AI Models · Open-Source vs Paid

REBeam 1.0 501B A23B Open vs Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite Paid

Beam 1.0 501B A23B vs Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite compared — price per token, context window, multimodality, openness and which to choose. Can the open-source model replace the paid one? Full 2026 breakdown.

Prices & specs refreshed from live data · olud.ai

Open-model prices = cheapest provider via OpenRouter; official maker rates may be higher.

REBeam 1.0 501B A23BOpenReflection
$0.25 /M input
$1 /M outputNo per-token fees if you self-host
TypeOpen-weight
Context window1M tokens
MultimodalNo
Self-hostYes
Gemini 3.5 Flash LitePaidGoogle
$0.3 /M input
$2.5 /M outputManaged API (no infra to run)
TypeProprietary
Context window1M tokens
MultimodalYes
Self-hostNo
Choose Beam 1.0 501B A23B if you want to self-host, keep your data private and skip per-token fees — it's open-weight and runs on your own hardware. Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

Beam 1.0 501B A23B vs Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite specs

SpecBeam 1.0 501B A23BGemini 3.5 Flash LiteWinner
MakerReflectionGoogle–
TypeOpen-weightProprietaryREBeam 1.0 501B A23B
Context window1M tokens1M tokens= Tie
Input price$0.25/M · free self-host$0.3/MREBeam 1.0 501B A23B
Output price$1/M · free self-host$2.5/MREBeam 1.0 501B A23B
Vision / multimodalNoYesGemini 3.5 Flash Lite
Tool / function callingYesYes= Tie
Self-hostableYesNo (API only)REBeam 1.0 501B A23B
LicenseOpen weightsProprietaryREBeam 1.0 501B A23B

Price gap & when to choose each

2.5×cheaper per output token

Beam 1.0 501B A23B is ~2.5× cheaper than Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite on output tokens ($1 vs $2.5 per M tokens).

REChoose Beam 1.0 501B A23B if…
  • You want to self-host or run on your cloud
  • You prioritize data privacy & control
  • You want the lowest operating costs
  • You are building open or reproducible AI
Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite if…
  • You want frontier performance through a managed API
  • You value reliability & ecosystem
  • You don't want to manage infrastructure

Feature comparison

CapabilityBeam 1.0 501B A23BGemini 3.5 Flash Lite
Open weights (downloadable)✓✗
Self-hostable✓✗
Runs fully offline✓✗
Vision / multimodal✗✓
Tool / function calling✓✓
1M+ context window✓✓

Benchmarks: Beam 1.0 501B A23B vs Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite

Independent benchmark scores measured by Artificial Analysis. Higher is better (except latency).

Beam 1.0 501B A23B
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite
Intelligence index
30.3
22.2
Humanity's Last Exam
34.7%
18.8%
Long Context Reasoning
78%
76%
SciCode
48.5%
41.3%
Coding index
–
49.3
GPQA
–
83.8%
τ-Bench Banking
–
17.5%
Terminal-Bench
–
53.6%
Speed
391.1 tok/s
409 tok/s
Latency
0.5s
5.69s
Intelligence per $
50.5
26.1

Benchmark data by Artificial Analysis.

How Beam 1.0 501B A23B and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite score

🏆 Best value & openness: Beam 1.0 501B A23B (4.6 vs 3.4 / 5)
CriterionBeam 1.0 501B A23BGemini 3.5 Flash Lite
Cost-efficiency4.54.5
Context window5.05.0
Openness5.01.5
Self-hosting5.01.0
Multimodality3.55.0

Scores come from live data — output price (cost), context length, open vs closed weights (openness & self-hosting) and vision/tool support (multimodality). Raw task quality isn't scored here; it depends on your benchmark — see the verdict.

What each model is

Beam 1.0 501B A23B Open

Reflection · Open-weight

Beam 1.0 is Reflection's open-weight reasoning model for coding and long-horizon agentic workflows. It uses a sparse mixture-of-experts architecture with 501B total and 23B active parameters per token, and a...

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite Paid

Google · Proprietary

Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is a high-efficiency model from Google with upgraded agentic capabilities. It is suited for subagents that execute focused tasks within complex, multi-agent workflows.

Other models in these families

These variants are tracked but not compared here — one page per family keeps the comparison readable.

Other variants tracked
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite (batch)Gemini 3.1 Flash LiteGemini 3.1 Flash Lite (batch)Gemini 2.5 Flash LiteNano Banana 2 Lite (Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Image)

Frequently asked questions

Is Beam 1.0 501B A23B as good as Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite?

Beam 1.0 501B A23B is open-weight and competitive on many tasks, but Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite may still lead on the hardest reasoning and agentic work. The gap keeps narrowing — benchmark both on your actual use case before deciding.

Can I run Beam 1.0 501B A23B locally?

Yes. Beam 1.0 501B A23B has open weights, so you can self-host it on your own GPUs or run it via a low-cost API. Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is API-only and cannot be self-hosted.

How much cheaper is Beam 1.0 501B A23B?

Beam 1.0 501B A23B costs $1/M output vs $2.5/M for Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite — roughly 3x cheaper via API, and free if you self-host.

Beam 1.0 501B A23B vs Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite — which should I pick in 2026?

Choose Beam 1.0 501B A23B if you want to self-host, keep your data private and skip per-token fees — it's open-weight and runs on your own hardware. Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

People also compare

Explore more open-source AI

Browse the full open-source model leaderboard, thousands of tools and live benchmarks — all in one place.

Open the leaderboard →