Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Grok 4.5
Price, context and benchmark scores side by side — every number from the live model catalogue.
| Gemini 3.6 Flashgoogle | Grok 4.5x-ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Input / 1M tokens | $1.50 | $2.00 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $7.50 | $6.00 |
| 1M in + 300K out | $3.75 | $3.80 |
| Context window | 1.0M | 500K |
| Intelligence index | 50.1 | 53.8 |
| Coding index | 69.2 | 72.4 |
| Agentic index | 38.7 | 45.7 |
| Cheapest provider | xAI | |
| Providers serving it | 2 | 1 |
| Weights | Closed | Closed |
| Image input | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning mode | Yes | Yes |
| Released | Jul 21, 2026 | Jul 8, 2026 |
Which one to pick
Pick Gemini 3.6 Flash if…
- You need the bigger context window (1.0M).
- You want provider redundancy: 2 providers serve it.
Pick Grok 4.5 if…
- You want the higher general-intelligence score (53.8).
- Code quality is the priority — it leads on the coding index (72.4).
- You are running agent loops — higher agentic index (45.7).
- Token cost matters: $6.00 per 1M output vs $7.50.
FAQ
Is Gemini 3.6 Flash better than Grok 4.5?
Grok 4.5 scores higher on general intelligence (50.1 vs 53.8), while Grok 4.5 is 1.3× cheaper per output token ($6.00 vs $7.50). For code, Grok 4.5 leads (72.4 coding index). Gemini 3.6 Flash takes the larger context at 1.0M.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.6 Flash or Grok 4.5?
Grok 4.5, at $6.00 per 1M output tokens versus $7.50. On a 1M input + 300K output workload that is $3.80 against $3.75.
Can I self-host Gemini 3.6 Flash or Grok 4.5?
Gemini 3.6 Flash: closed weights, API only. Grok 4.5: closed weights, API only.