IMPORTANT: GEMINI 3.6 FLASH STATUS AS OF JULY 21, 2026
● Gemini 3.6 Flash: NOT launched. Model name registered and API string confirmed. No official specs, pricing, or release date from Google.
● What is known: Google registered gemini-3-6-flash as a model identifier. Expected to fill the gap left by Gemini 3.5 Pro's third delay.
● Expected timeline: 2-4 weeks from July 17, or possibly skipped in favour of Gemini 4.0 Flash
● GPT-5.6 Luna: Launched July 9-10, 2026. Fully live. $1/$6/M. 83.2% Terminal-Bench 2.1. 1.05M context.
● This comparison: What we know about each vs a projection of what 3.6 Flash will likely offer based on Google's Flash tier pattern
GPT-5.6 Luna — What Is Live Now
| Model |
Input /1M |
Output /1M |
Context |
Terminal-Bench 2.1 |
Nerova |
Status |
| GPT-5.6 Luna |
$1 |
$6 |
1.05M |
83.2% |
41.3% |
Live |
| Gemini 3.6 Flash |
TBC |
TBC |
TBC |
TBC |
TBC |
Not launched |
GPT-5.6 Luna — Who It Is For
GPT-5.6 Luna at $1/$6/M is the cheapest model in the GPT-5.6 family and OpenAI's lowest-cost frontier-adjacent option. At 83.2% Terminal-Bench 2.1, it sits 5.6 points below Terra (87.1%) and 5.6 points below Gemini 3.5 Flash's last published score for comparable tasks. The critical limitation is Nerova performance: 41.3% — 30 points below Terra's 71.4%. Luna degrades significantly on multi-step reasoning chains. For single-step, well-defined tasks (routing, classification, extraction, summarisation) Luna is a strong choice at $1/$6/M. For tasks requiring sustained reasoning chains, use Terra or Sol instead.
What Gemini 3.6 Flash Is Expected to Be
Google's Flash tier has historically been its fastest and cheapest offering in each generation — Gemini 1.5 Flash, 2.0 Flash, and 2.5 Flash all followed this pattern. Gemini 3.6 Flash is expected to be priced at or below Gemini 2.5 Flash's rates and positioned as a stopgap while Gemini 3.5 Pro's third delay continues. Based on the Flash tier pattern, expect: sub-$0.50/M input pricing, faster inference than Terra or Sol, and benchmark scores in the 80-85% Terminal-Bench range — competitive with but below GPT-5.6 Luna's 83.2%. This is projection, not confirmed data. Do not build pipelines around unconfirmed specs.
What to Use Right Now
If you need a budget tier model today: GPT-5.6 Luna ($1/$6/M). It is live, benchmarked, and available via the OpenAI API now. 83.2% Terminal-Bench, 1.05M context. Do not wait for Gemini 3.6 Flash which has no confirmed launch date.
If you are a Google Workspace user waiting for Flash: Gemini 3.5 Flash is still available and performing well. Gemini 3.6 Flash, if it ships, will likely offer faster inference and potentially lower pricing — worth waiting for if you are already in the Google ecosystem.
Also consider: DeepSeek V4 Flash ($0.14/$0.28/M). For high-volume budget-tier work where Western data residency is acceptable, DeepSeek V4 Flash is 7x cheaper than Luna. Just migrate your aliases before July 24 at 15:59 UTC.
Last updated July 21, 2026. This page will be updated when Gemini 3.6 Flash officially launches with confirmed specs and pricing. Related: Gemini 3.6 Flash — everything we know → · GPT-5.6 Sol vs Terra vs Luna → · Gemini 3.6 Flash vs 3.5 Flash vs Luna →