Gemini 3.6 Flash
Shutting down. Gemini 3.6 Flash shuts down on Google Vertex AI on Nov 19, 2026. Google names Gemini 3.8 Flash as the replacement.
36 days- Next shutdown
- 36 daysNov 19, 2026 · Google Vertex AI
- Arena Text
- 1,482#14 of 128 · Arena
- GPQA Diamond
- 94.1%#10 of 108 · Epoch AI
- List price · $ per 1M
- $0.75 in $3.75 outGemini API · cached input $0.075
- Context window
- 1MMax output 65.5K tokens
Dates on every platform
| Platform | Model ID and status | Deprecated | Shuts down | Replacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini APIGoogle: Gemini deprecations (opens in a new tab) · checked Oct 14, 2026 | gemini-3.6-flashActive | – | None set | – |
| Google Vertex AIGoogle Cloud: Model versions and lifecycle (opens in a new tab) · checked Oct 14, 2026 | gemini-3.6-flashDeprecated | – | 36 days | Gemini 3.8 Flash |
What breaks when you move off Gemini 3.6 Flash
- Pricing
- Behavior
- Parameters
- Parameters
- Parameters
- Parameters
- Parameters
- Defaults
Intelligence
| Benchmark | Publisher | Score | Rank | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arena Text | Arena | 1,482 ± 2 | #14 of 128 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| GPQA Diamond | Epoch AI | 94.1% ± 1.4% | #10 of 108 | Aug 2, 2026 |
| Arena WebDev | Arena | 1,538 ± 4 | #28 of 69 | Oct 8, 2026 |
| Arena Agent | Arena | -0 ± 0 | #30 of 35 | Oct 12, 2026 |
| FrontierMath Tier 4 | Epoch AI | 22.0% ± 6.5% | #38 of 58 | Aug 2, 2026 |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 | Epoch AI | 58.9% ± 2.9% | #36 of 71 | Aug 2, 2026 |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | Epoch AI | 94.2% ± 3.1% | #36 of 105 | Aug 2, 2026 |
| SimpleQA Verified | Epoch AI | 66.2% ± 1.5% | #13 of 68 | Aug 27, 2026 |
Arena (arena.ai), https://arena.ai/leaderboard
Epoch AI, ‘Capabilities & benchmarking’. Published online at epoch.ai. Retrieved from ‘https://epoch.ai/benchmarks’ [online resource].
List prices
| Platform | Input | Cached | Output | In effect | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gemini APIgemini-3.6-flash | $1.50 | $0.15 | $7.50 | Jan 1, 2027Scheduled | Google: Gemini Developer API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Gemini APIgemini-3.6-flash | $0.75 | $0.075 | $3.75 | Oct 13, 2026 to Jan 1, 2027Current · Introductory price. Google does not publish its start date; this record starts on the date of the checked page. | Google: Gemini Developer API pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Google Vertex AIgemini-3.6-flash | $0.75 | $0.075 | $3.75 | Oct 13, 2026 to Jan 1, 2027Current · Introductory price. Google does not publish its start date; this record starts on the date of the checked page. Global endpoint price; regional endpoints cost more. | Google Cloud: Agent Platform pricing (opens in a new tab) |
Change history
Price changeGemini 3.8 Flash and 3.6 Flash introductory prices end on the Gemini APIGemini API1 break
Standard prices for gemini-3.8-flash and gemini-3.6-flash take effect on January 1, 2027, double the introductory rates.
- Platform
- Gemini API
- Models
- Gemini 3.8 Flash, Gemini 3.6 Flash
- PricingPer-token cost doubles from January 1, 2027.
Source: Google, What's new in Gemini 3.8 Flash (opens in a new tab); Google, Gemini Developer API pricing (opens in a new tab)
ShutdownGemini 3.6 Flash retires on Agent PlatformGoogle Vertex AI1 break
Google retires gemini-3.6-flash on Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform and recommends gemini-3.8-flash.
- Platform
- Google Vertex AI
- Model
- Gemini 3.6 Flash
- Replacement
- Gemini 3.8 Flash
- BehaviorGemini 3.8 Flash can use more tokens on long, complex tasks by design.
Source: Google Cloud, Model versions and lifecycle (opens in a new tab); Google, What's new in Gemini 3.8 Flash (opens in a new tab)
RedirectGemini 3.5 Flash requests now go to Gemini 3.6 FlashGemini API1 break
Google deprecated gemini-3.5-flash on the Gemini API and routes its requests to gemini-3.6-flash without an error. Responses now come from a different model.
- Platform
- Gemini API
- Model
- Gemini 3.5 Flash
- Replacement
- Gemini 3.6 Flash
- Announced
- ParametersGemini 3.6 Flash ignores temperature, top_p and top_k, and returns a 400 error when the last turn is a prefilled model turn.
Source: Google, Gemini API release notes (opens in a new tab); Google, Gemini deprecations (opens in a new tab); Google, What's new in Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.5 Flash-Lite (opens in a new tab)
API changeGemini deprecates temperature, top_p and top_kGemini API2 breaks
From Gemini 3.6 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite on, the Gemini API ignores sampling parameters and rejects prefilled model turns. The change applies to later Gemini models too.
- Platform
- Gemini API
- Parameterstemperature, top_p and top_k are ignored. Google says later model generations will return an error.
- ParametersA request whose last non-empty turn is a model turn returns a 400 error.
Source: Google, Gemini API release notes (opens in a new tab); Google, What's new in Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.5 Flash-Lite (opens in a new tab)
ReleaseGemini 3.6 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite releasedGemini API, Google Vertex AI4 breaks
Google released Gemini 3.6 Flash and Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite as generally available, with new rules for sampling parameters and model turns.
- Platform
- Gemini API, Google Vertex AI
- ParametersCustom temperature, top_p and top_k values are ignored.
- ParametersOn Agent Platform, custom frequency and presence penalty values return an API error.
- ParametersA request whose last turn is a model turn returns an error.
- DefaultsGemini 3.5 Flash-Lite defaults to the minimal thinking level; set medium or high for agent work.
Source: Google, Gemini API release notes (opens in a new tab); Google, What's new in Gemini 3.6 Flash and 3.5 Flash-Lite (opens in a new tab); Google Cloud, Gemini Enterprise Agent Platform release notes (opens in a new tab)