Token Volume Trumps Model Names: The Real Cost of Gemini Agents

Gemini's pricing hierarchy doesn't correlate with model names—the actual cost driver is token usage, especially input volume accumulated across agent turns and amplified by prompt caching. This disconnect means relying on list prices is misleading; teams must analyze session logs to find the true cost per task. For cost-conscious workloads, Gemini 3 Flash Preview delivers competitive performance at a fraction of the cost of premium models.