Gemini 3.8 Flash High vs Inkling 2 Small: which is cheaper?

Gemini 3.8 Flash High and Inkling 2 Small are level on the intelligence index (30.8 and 30.6). Price per token, response speed and when to pick each.

Metric	Gemini 3.8 Flash (High)	Inkling 2 Small
Intelligence Index	30.8	30.6
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$0.75	$0.30
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$3.75	$1.00
Output speed (tokens/s)	121	139
Time to first token	27s	2.2s
Release date	2026-09-02	2026-11-05

Metric

Gemini 3.8 Flash (High)

Inkling 2 Small

Intelligence Index

30.8

30.6

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$0.75

$0.30

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$3.75

$1.00

Output speed (tokens/s)

121

139

Time to first token

27s

2.2s

Release date

2026-09-02

2026-11-05

On the headline score, Google's Gemini 3.8 Flash (High) and Thinking Machines's Inkling 2 Small are almost level. Cost is where they split the most, with Inkling 2 Small working out at about 32% of Gemini 3.8 Flash High's blended rate. All numbers are the catalogue's recorded values; nobody ran either model by hand for this page.

Token pricing and a sample bill

Gemini 3.8 Flash High lists $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens; Inkling 2 Small lists $0.30 and $1.00. That makes Inkling 2 Small's output 73% cheaper.

A reference job of 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens costs $1.50 with Gemini 3.8 Flash High and $0.50 with Inkling 2 Small, so Inkling 2 Small saves $1.00. Scale it up to an agent that reads 50 million tokens and writes 5 million in a month and the bill is $56.25 for Gemini 3.8 Flash High against $20.00 for Inkling 2 Small.

Generation gap

Inkling 2 Small arrived on November 5, 2026, about 2 months after Gemini 3.8 Flash High (September 2, 2026).

Inkling 2 Small is the faster writer

Measured output speed is 121 tokens per second for Gemini 3.8 Flash High and 139 tokens per second for Inkling 2 Small. Inkling 2 Small is ahead by 15% on throughput. The wait for the first token averages 27 seconds on Gemini 3.8 Flash High against 2.2 seconds on Inkling 2 Small. Gemini 3.8 Flash High waits 12 times as long before its first token.

Put together, a 400-token answer would take about 31 seconds from Gemini 3.8 Flash High and 5.1 seconds from Inkling 2 Small, counting the first-token wait.

Benchmark scores

The intelligence index has them at 30.8 and 30.6, Gemini 3.8 Flash High first. On an aggregate like this, under a point is effectively level.

Across the 109 active models with an intelligence score in the catalogue, Gemini 3.8 Flash High ranks 50th and Inkling 2 Small ranks 52nd.

Neither model has a separate coding or math index recorded yet, so those narrower comparisons will have to wait for more data.

Score per dollar

Per point of intelligence index, Gemini 3.8 Flash High costs $0.049 of blended price per million tokens and Inkling 2 Small $0.016. With scores this close, Inkling 2 Small is simply the cheaper way to buy the same capability.

Quick answers

Is Gemini 3.8 Flash High better than Inkling 2 Small?

Where the data separates them, Inkling 2 Small is ahead each time: they are level on the intelligence index (30.8 and 30.6); Inkling 2 Small is 68% cheaper on blended price; and Inkling 2 Small streams output 1.1 times as fast.

Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.8 Flash High or Inkling 2 Small?

Inkling 2 Small is cheaper on a blended basis. Gemini 3.8 Flash High lists $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 per million output tokens; Inkling 2 Small lists $0.30 and $1.00. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $1.50 against $0.50.

Who makes Gemini 3.8 Flash High and Inkling 2 Small?

Gemini 3.8 Flash High is made by Google and Inkling 2 Small by Thinking Machines. Gemini 3.8 Flash High was released on September 2, 2026 and Inkling 2 Small on November 5, 2026.

When were Gemini 3.8 Flash High and Inkling 2 Small released?

Inkling 2 Small is newer. It was released on November 5, 2026, about 2 months after Gemini 3.8 Flash High (September 2, 2026).

Was this comparison tested by hand?

The figures are the recorded benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's model catalogue. This page is written from that data automatically; neither model was tested by hand for it.

Final whistle

Bottom line: Inkling 2 Small comes out ahead on every recorded measure where they differ, so it is the easier choice unless something outside this data matters to you. Pick Gemini 3.8 Flash High only if your own tests show an advantage the recorded data does not. Pick Inkling 2 Small if cost matters ($1.00 against $3.75 per million output tokens) and users are waiting on the first word.

Where the numbers come from

The scores, speed and prices in this comparison come from independent third-party model evaluations that Franklin AI syncs each day, and the article was written from a snapshot of them. For the latest results, open the Gemini 3.8 Flash (High) and Inkling 2 Small pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.