Claude Haiku 5.5 vs Gemini 3.5 Flash
Pricing, context window and real answers (October 2026)
Claude Haiku 5.5 (Anthropic) and Gemini 3.5 Flash (Google), compared as you can actually call them on FastMetal. Both are served from the same OpenAI-compatible endpoint and API key; switching is a change to the model string.
Specs and pricing
 Claude Haiku 5.5 |  Gemini 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Anthropic | |
| Input (per 1M tokens) | $0.1055 | $1.65 |
| Output (per 1M tokens) | $0.5275 | $9.90 |
| Typical cost (1,000 in + 500 out tokens × 1,000 calls) | $0.3693 | $6.60 |
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Release date | 10/7/2026 | 5/19/2026 |
| Input modalities | text, image, file | text, image, video, file, audio |
| Throughput (p50) | — | 594 tokens/s (n=25) |
| Arena · overall | Unranked | #28 · ELO 1,477 |
| Arena · Japanese | Unranked | #18 · ELO 1,479 |
| Arena · coding | Unranked | #63 · ELO 1,507 |
Prices are FastMetal's rates, before tax.
Rankings: LMArena leaderboard dataset (lmarena-ai/leaderboard-dataset), CC BY 4.0, snapshot 2026-10-02; category names mapped and ratings rounded by FastMetal.
Which should you pick?
- On price, Claude Haiku 5.5: $0.5275 per 1M output tokens, 95% less than Gemini 3.5 Flash.
- For long documents, Gemini 3.5 Flash: a 1,048,576-token context window against 1,000,000 for Claude Haiku 5.5.
- If in doubt, try both on the same key. Switching is a change to the model string, and each is billed at its own rate.
Real answers to the same prompts
Exactly what the FastMetal gateway returned, side by side. Not benchmark scores: actual output.
Count the number of 'r's in 'strawberry'
Count the number of 'r's in 'strawberry'. Explain your reasoning step by step.
Claude Haiku 5.5
There are **3** r's in "strawberry."
1. **Spell out the word:** s, t, r, a, w, b, e, r, r, y
2. **Go through each letter and count the r's:**
- Position 3: **r** (count = 1)
- Position 8: **r** (count = 2)
- Position 9: **r** (count = 3)
3. **Check the rest:** s, t, a, w, b, e, and y are not r's.
Total: **3**
2.4s200 output tokens
Gemini 3.5 Flash
There are **3** 'r's in the word "strawberry".
Here is the step-by-step breakdown of how to count them:
1. **Break the word down into its individual letters:**
* 1st letter: **s**
* 2nd letter: **t**
* 3rd letter: **r** (First 'r')
* 4th letter: **a**
* 5th letter: **w**
* 6th letter: **b**
* 7th letter: **e**
* 8th letter: **r** (Second 'r')
* 9th letter: **r** (Third 'r')
* 10th letter: **y**
2. **Identify and count only the 'r's:**
* s - t - **r** (1) - a - w - b - e - **r** (2) - **r** (3) - y
By counting them as we go through the word, we find a total of **3** 'r's.
4.8s601 output tokens
Debug This Error
I'm getting the following error in my Node.js application: TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'map') at UserList (/app/components/UserList.js:12:25) at renderWithHooks (/app/node_modules/rea…
Claude Haiku 5.5
The error means `users` is `undefined` when `UserList` renders, so `.map` is called on nothing. The component destructures the `users` prop, but the parent didn't pass it, or passed `undefined`.
## Common causes
**1. The parent doesn't pass the prop, or uses a different name**
```jsx
<UserList /> // users is undefined
<UserList user={users} /> // wrong name: "user" instead of "users"
```
**2. The data hasn't loaded yet (most common with fetched data)**
```jsx
function App() {
const [users, setUsers] = useState(); // undefined initially
useEffect(() => {
fetch('/api/users').then(r => r.json()).then(setUsers);
}, []);
return <UserList users={users} />;…
5.1s888 output tokens
Gemini 3.5 Flash
### What is causing this error?
The error `TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'map')` means that your `UserList` component is trying to call `.map()` on the `users` variable, but **`users` is currently `undefined`**.
This usually happens for one of two reasons:
1. **The parent component forgot to pass the prop:** `<UserList />` was rendered without the `users` attribute.
2. **Asynchronous data fetching:** The parent component fetches the users from an API, but the API request hasn't finished yet when the component first renders, so `users` starts as `undefined`.
---
### How to fix it
Here are the three best ways to fix this, depending on how you want your UI to beh…
11.2s1524 output tokens
Code Review
Please review the following Python function and suggest improvements for readability, performance, and best practices: def get_data(url, retries=3): import requests import time for i in range(retries):…
Claude Haiku 5.5
## Issues
**Correctness and robustness**
1. **Bare `except:`** catches everything, including `KeyboardInterrupt` and `SystemExit`, so Ctrl+C may not stop the program. Catch specific exceptions: `requests.RequestException` for network problems and `ValueError` for invalid JSON.
2. **Retries non-retryable errors.** A 404 or 401 won't succeed on retry, so retrying wastes time. Only retry transient failures such as 429, 5xx, timeouts, and connection errors.
3. **Sleeps after the final attempt.** The loop sleeps even when no retry follows.
4. **Fixed sleep with no backoff.** Exponential backoff is the standard approach for retries.
5. **Silent failure.** Every failure returns `[]` with no loggin…
18.1s4096 output tokens
Gemini 3.5 Flash
Here is a review of your function, followed by two improved versions (one that keeps your structure but makes it Pythonic, and one production-ready version that uses industry best practices).
---
### Key Areas for Improvement
1. **Imports inside the function:** `import requests` and `import time` should be at the top of the file (PEP 8). Keeping them inside the function slows down execution if the function is called repeatedly.
2. **Bare `except:` clause:** Using `except:` without specifying an exception type is a major anti-pattern. It catches things you don't want to catch, like `KeyboardInterrupt` (Ctrl+C) or `SystemExit`. It should target `requests.RequestException`.
3. **Implicit `Tr…
19.7s2975 output tokens
Frequently asked questions
- Which is cheaper, Claude Haiku 5.5 or Gemini 3.5 Flash?
- Per 1M output tokens, Claude Haiku 5.5 is $0.5275 and Gemini 3.5 Flash is $9.90 on FastMetal (US dollars, before tax), so Claude Haiku 5.5 is cheaper.
- How do the context windows of Claude Haiku 5.5 and Gemini 3.5 Flash compare?
- Claude Haiku 5.5 takes 1,000,000 tokens; Gemini 3.5 Flash takes 1,048,576.
- Can I use Claude Haiku 5.5 and Gemini 3.5 Flash with the same API key?
- Yes. On FastMetal's OpenAI-compatible endpoint, switch by passing "anthropic-claude-haiku-5-5" or "gemini-3.5-flash" as the model. Each is billed at its own rate from the same prepaid balance.
Try both on one API key
Create an account and add credit to call Claude Haiku 5.5 and Gemini 3.5 Flash from the browser chat and the API. No monthly fee.