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Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Claude Sonnet 5
Gemini 3.8 Flash scores higher than Claude Sonnet 5 on all 3 public leaderboards that rate both. On the ArtificialWatch Index, which takes the median of each model's percentile across the boards that score it, Gemini 3.8 Flash is at 42.2 and Claude Sonnet 5 at 24 (out of 100). On each maker's API, Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $0.75 / $3.75 per 1M tokens (input / output) and Claude Sonnet 5 $2 / $10.
Scores as published by each board; table composed November 12, 2026.
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Leaderboard by leaderboard
| Board | Gemini 3.8 Flash | Claude Sonnet 5 | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Elo (community votes) | 1,582.6 | 1,539 | Gemini 3.8 Flash |
| SimpleBench AVG@5 % (private set) | 82.4 | 60.6 | Gemini 3.8 Flash |
| Epoch AI Epoch Capabilities Index (ECI) · many benchmarks on one scale | 158.8 | 156.9 | Gemini 3.8 Flash |
Raw scores are each board's own scale, so compare within a row, not across rows. Full table: the bench index.
For coding
On the ArtificialWatch coding index, Gemini 3.8 Flash is at 44.4 (#22 of 47) and Claude Sonnet 5 at 42.5 (#23). Gemini 3.8 Flash scores higher on 1 of the 2 coding boards that rate both and Claude Sonnet 5 on 1.
| Coding board | Gemini 3.8 Flash | Claude Sonnet 5 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena · Coding | 1,510.6 | 1,483.2 |
| Vals Vibe Code Bench | 78.7 | 81.3 |
Gemini 3.8 Flash at a glance
- Developer
- Status
- Live since September 2, 2026
- API price
- $0.75 input / $3.75 output per 1M tokens · Google, gemini-3.8-flash
- Context window
- 1.05M tokens
Live — GA Sep 2 · $0.75/$3.75 per 1M introductory through Dec 31, identical to 3.7 · 1M in / 64K out · 'our most intelligent Flash model' · 20 days after 3.7.
Gemini 3.8 Flash is GA — same price as 3.7, twenty days later
2026-09-02 · Google released Gemini 3.8 Flash today. The Gemini API changelog for September 2 reads: "Gemini 3.8 Flash generally available (GA): Released gemini-3.8-flash, our most intelligent Flash model, engineered for long-horizon software engineering, autonomous agents, and complex enterprise workflows."
Claude Sonnet 5 at a glance
- Developer
- Anthropic
- Status
- Live since June 30, 2026
- API price
- $2 input / $10 output per 1M tokens · Anthropic, claude-sonnet-5
- Context window
- 1M tokens
Shipped Jun 30.
Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Claude Sonnet 5: quick answers
Which is better, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Claude Sonnet 5?
It depends on what you measure. Gemini 3.8 Flash scores higher than Claude Sonnet 5 on all 3 public leaderboards that rate both. Gemini 3.8 Flash's widest lead is on SimpleBench. On the ArtificialWatch Index, which takes the median of each model's percentile across the boards that score it, Gemini 3.8 Flash is at 42.2 and Claude Sonnet 5 at 24 (out of 100).
Which is newer, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Claude Sonnet 5?
Gemini 3.8 Flash. It went live on September 2, 2026, 64 days after Claude Sonnet 5 (June 30, 2026).
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Claude Sonnet 5?
Gemini 3.8 Flash is cheaper on both input and output. On each vendor's own API, Gemini 3.8 Flash is $0.75 input / $3.75 output per million tokens and Claude Sonnet 5 is $2 input / $10 output per million tokens. Prices as published in the models.dev catalog, as of 2026-11-12.
Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 3.8 Flash or Claude Sonnet 5?
Gemini 3.8 Flash, at 1.05M tokens against Claude Sonnet 5's 1M, as each vendor lists it.
How do Gemini 3.8 Flash and Claude Sonnet 5 compare for coding?
On the ArtificialWatch coding index, Gemini 3.8 Flash is at 44.4 (#22 of 47) and Claude Sonnet 5 at 42.5 (#23). Gemini 3.8 Flash scores higher on 1 of the 2 coding boards that rate both and Claude Sonnet 5 on 1.
Who makes Gemini 3.8 Flash and Claude Sonnet 5?
Gemini 3.8 Flash is from Google; Claude Sonnet 5 is from Anthropic.
Where do these numbers come from?
Each score is the leaderboard's own published figure, read by ArtificialWatch (table composed November 12, 2026). Boards measure different things, so raw scores are only comparable within a row.
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Also: the bench index · API pricing · what a workload costs on each · the wire