Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Haiku 4.5 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,438 vs 1,295), while Claude Haiku 4.5 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (58.2%), while Gemini 2.5 Flash is more budget-friendly at $2.5/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
Anthropic cheap/fast Claude SKU. Official Claude Platform list price $1/$5 per 1M tokens (Anthropic Haiku page).
Speed, cost, and intelligence tradeoffs across the Anthropic lineup
Δ 143 Arena Elo pts
185 tok/s
$2.5 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | Claude Haiku 4.5 (+143) | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | Claude Haiku 4.5 (+11%) | ||
| SWE-bench | Claude Haiku 4.5 (+10.2%) | ||
| GPQA Diamond | Claude Haiku 4.5 (+5.8%) | ||
| Time to first token | Claude Haiku 4.5 (+15 ms) | ||
| Output speed | 175 tok/s | 185 tok/s | Gemini 2.5 Flash (+10 tok/s) |
| Input price | $0.3/1M | Gemini 2.5 Flash (+$0.7/1M) | |
| Output price | $2.5/1M | Gemini 2.5 Flash (+$2.5/1M) | |
| Context window | Gemini 2.5 Flash (+849k) |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Gemini 2.5 Flash is estimated to save $62.00/month ($744/year).
Higher SWE-bench (58.2%).
Lower output list price ($2.5/1M).
Lower TTFT (95 ms).
Larger window (1M).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Haiku 4.5).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Higher SWE-bench (58.2%). |
| High-volume chat | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Lower output list price ($2.5/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Lower TTFT (95 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Gemini 2.5 Flash | Larger window (1M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (Claude Haiku 4.5). |
$1/$5 hosted Claude vs a cheap long-context open sibling. The alternative-to-Sonnet pair that is honest.
Huge window, cheap hosted lists. The Haiku alternative that is actually open-weight.
Official Anthropic list $1/$5. This is the SKU behind “cheapest Claude alternative” that is still Claude.
Useful as a cheap historical compare. 3.7 Flash is the 2026 volume SKU.
No comments posted on this matchup yet. Be the first to share an evaluation note!
The real PNG is generated at /compare/claude-haiku-4-5-vs-gemini-2-5-flash/opengraph-image for crawlers.
Verified head-to-head card
compare · Aug 16, 2026
Haiku 4.5 vs Llama 4 Scout: cheap Claude versus cheap open Llama
launch · Apr 8, 2026
Llama 4 Scout: long-context open sibling of Maverick
launch · Oct 22, 2025
Claude Haiku 4.5 at $1/$5: the cheap Claude people actually ship
launch · Mar 25, 2025
Gemini 2.5 Flash: previous Google speed workhorse, still a baseline
