Google · Model release
Gemini 3.8 Flash: September 2026 launch and dated coding results
Google's September 2, 2026 launch positioned Gemini 3.8 Flash for coding and agentic work. In Datacurve's independent DeepSWE 1.1 snapshot dated 2026-09-22, its score was within 0.3 points of GPT-6 Astra at about half the reported task cost; this is a dated benchmark comparison, not a current cross-model rank.
What changed
- In Datacurve's independent DeepSWE 1.1 capture dated 2026-09-22, Gemini 3.8 Flash scored 73.8% pass@1 at $2.36/task, versus GPT-6 Astra at 74.1%/$4.43 and Opus 5 at 73.6%/$11.84. This is a dated, harness-specific snapshot, not a current cross-model ranking.
- 89.4% on Terminal-Bench 2.1 in Google's launch table and 41 (high, publisher-rounded) in the dated 2026-09-26 rebased AA Intelligence Index v4.3.2 snapshot.
- Intro pricing $0.75/$3.75 per MTok through 2026-12-31 (then $1.50/$7.50); a restricted Gemini 3.8 Flash Cyber ships alongside it via the Fairwind Program.
Best fit
- Agentic coding at scale
- Mid-difficulty engineering
- Cost-aware frontier workloads
What to be careful about
- Google says it can consume more tokens than 3.7 Flash — 3.7 Flash stays available for efficiency-first workloads.
- Intro rates double on 2027-01-01; model that into any annual commitment.
Dataset snapshot: Gemini 3.8 Flash is also represented in the checked comparison dataset. Prices and benchmark figures carry their own field dates.