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HEAD TO HEAD · UPDATED NOV 6, 2026
Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Muse Spark Open
Google DeepMind against Meta, on sourced numbers only. Green marks the higher (or cheaper) value on each row; the text below only calls a lead when the gap is bigger than measurement noise.
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | Muse Spark Open | |
|---|---|---|
| Arena Elo | 1496 source ↗ | not published |
| GPQA Diamond | 95.4% source ↗ | 89.0% source ↗ |
| $ per 1M in / out | $0.75 / $3.75 source ↗ | $1.25 / $4.25 source ↗ |
| Blended $ per 1M (3:1) | $1.50 source ↗ | $2.00 source ↗ |
| Context window | 1M source ↗ | 1M source ↗ |
| Output speed | 117 tok/s source ↗ | 153 tok/s source ↗ |
| Released | Sep 2, 2026 source ↗ | Oct 15, 2026 source ↗ |
| Open weights | No source ↗ | Yes source ↗ |
| Reasoning effort tiers | low · medium · high (default: medium) | not verified (default: not stated) |
| API effort control | thinking_config={"thinking_level": "low" | "medium" | "high"} source ↗ | Not verified: reasoning controls depend on the host source ↗ |
| Additional benchmarks | DeepSWE v1.1: 73.7% source ↗ | Size: 816B total, 42B active (MoE) source ↗ Output speed: 153 tok/s, varies by host source ↗ |
| Best for (workload) | 95.4% on GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI) and 117 tok/s output (Artificial Analysis) at a Flash-tier price. source ↗ | Meta's large open-weights model (816B total, 42B active) with a 1M context window; 89.0% GPQA Diamond (Meta). source ↗ |
Arena Elo from the arena.ai text leaderboard as of Oct 27, 2026 source ↗. Speed measured by Artificial Analysis and varies by provider.
Which one should I use?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, Gemini 3.8 Flash is about 1.3 times cheaper per token. For hard science and analysis questions, Gemini 3.8 Flash scores higher on GPQA Diamond (95.4% vs 89.0%). For latency-sensitive use such as live chat, Muse Spark Open is noticeably faster (153 vs 117 tokens per second). If you need to self-host or fine-tune, only Muse Spark Open has open weights. On release timing, Google DeepMind is at day 24 of a typical ~32-day gap (MID-CYCLE), and Meta is at day 22 of a typical ~14-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP).
Key differences from the sourced numbers
- Gemini 3.8 Flash is the cheaper option: $1.50 vs $2.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 1.3 times less).
- On GPQA Diamond, graduate-level science questions, Gemini 3.8 Flash leads 95.4% to 89.0%.
- Muse Spark Open streams output faster: 153 vs 117 tokens per second (Artificial Analysis).
- Gemini 3.8 Flash pricing note: Until Dec 31, 2026; $1.50 / $7.50 from Jan 1, 2027. No higher rate for long prompts.
- Muse Spark Open pricing note: Hosted price on OpenRouter (ID meta/muse-spark-open) and Together AI (ID meta-models/Muse-Spark-Open-816B-A42B). Open weights under the Muse Model License.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemini 3.8 Flash or Muse Spark Open better?
Gemini 3.8 Flash is the cheaper option: $1.50 vs $2.00 per 1M tokens at a 3:1 input-to-output mix (about 1.3 times less). On GPQA Diamond, graduate-level science questions, Gemini 3.8 Flash leads 95.4% to 89.0%. Muse Spark Open streams output faster: 153 vs 117 tokens per second (Artificial Analysis). Gemini 3.8 Flash pricing note: Until Dec 31, 2026; $1.50 / $7.50 from Jan 1, 2027. No higher rate for long prompts. Muse Spark Open pricing note: Hosted price on OpenRouter (ID meta/muse-spark-open) and Together AI (ID meta-models/Muse-Spark-Open-816B-A42B). Open weights under the Muse Model License.
Which one should I use: Gemini 3.8 Flash or Muse Spark Open?
For high-volume work where cost matters most, Gemini 3.8 Flash is about 1.3 times cheaper per token. For hard science and analysis questions, Gemini 3.8 Flash scores higher on GPQA Diamond (95.4% vs 89.0%). For latency-sensitive use such as live chat, Muse Spark Open is noticeably faster (153 vs 117 tokens per second). If you need to self-host or fine-tune, only Muse Spark Open has open weights. On release timing, Google DeepMind is at day 24 of a typical ~32-day gap (MID-CYCLE), and Meta is at day 22 of a typical ~14-day gap (PAST TYPICAL GAP).
How much does Gemini 3.8 Flash cost compared with Muse Spark Open?
Gemini 3.8 Flash lists at $0.75 / $3.75 per 1M input/output tokens ($1.50/1M blended at 3:1). Muse Spark Open lists at $1.25 / $4.25 per 1M input/output tokens ($2.00/1M blended at 3:1).
Facts checked Nov 5, 2026 against official sources. Every number links to its source. Spotted an error? Email [email protected].