Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite Environmental Impact
Google's most cost-efficient model — $0.25/$1.50 per M tokens
- Architecture
- Multimodal Transformer (MoE, cost-optimised)
- Context
- 1,000,000 tokens
- Provider
Energy per query
0.06 Wh
about the same as a Google search (0.3 Wh)
CO2 per query
0.01 g
Google Global Network grid (300 gCO₂/kWh)
Water per query
0.07 mL
~15,385 queries to fill 1 litre
Processing location
Google global network (64% renewable)
Provider
Category
Text / Chat
Grid carbon intensity
300 g CO2/kWh (64% renewable)
How does Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite compare?
Detailed Breakdown
Energy Consumption
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is the most cost-efficient model in Google's lineup at $0.25/$1.50 per M tokens. At ~0.06 Wh per query, it is 2.5x faster time-to-first-answer than Gemini 2.5 Flash while maintaining a 1M context window. Designed for the highest-volume, most cost-sensitive applications.
Power Source & Carbon
Runs on Google's TPU infrastructure with 100% renewable energy matching.
Water Usage
At ~0.065 mL per query — the lowest water footprint of any cloud-based model in our dataset.
About Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
At 0.06 Wh per query, Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite is one of the most energy-efficient AI models in existence — ranked #2 across our entire dataset of 152 models. It proves that useful AI doesn't have to be expensive to run. Google released it in March 3, 2026 as a text and chat model: google's most cost-efficient model — $0.25/$1.50 per m tokens.
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite benefits from running in Google Global Network, one of the cleaner grid regions in our dataset at 300 gCO₂/kWh with 64% renewable energy. The same model running in a coal-heavy region would produce significantly more carbon per query.
These figures are estimates derived from hardware specifications and API benchmarks — Google has not published official energy data for Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite. Actual consumption may vary significantly depending on batching, quantisation, and infrastructure optimisations that we cannot observe from outside.
Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite in Context
Your yearly Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite footprint
At 25 queries per day, your annual Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite usage consumes 0.5 kWh — less than charging your phone for a year. That produces 0.1 kg of CO₂.
Key Insights
Google Gemini Family
How energy efficiency has evolved across versions.
What does your Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite usage cost the planet?
Use our calculator to estimate your personal environmental footprint based on how often you use Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite.
Calculate My ComputeFrequently Asked Questions
How much energy does Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite use per query?
Each Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite query consumes approximately 0.06 Wh of energy. This is about the same as a traditional Google search (~0.3 Wh).
What is Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite's carbon footprint?
Based on the carbon intensity of Google global network (64% renewable), each query produces approximately 0.01 g of CO2. The grid in this region has a carbon intensity of 300 g CO2/kWh with 64% renewable energy.
How much water does Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite use?
Each query consumes approximately 0.07 mL of water, primarily used for cooling the data centers that process the request.
How does Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite compare to a Google search?
A Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite query uses about the same as a Google search in terms of energy. A Google search uses approximately 0.3 Wh, while Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite uses 0.06 Wh.
Technical Details
Architecture
Multimodal Transformer (MoE, cost-optimised)
Context window
1,000,000 tokens
Release date
2026-03-03
Open source
No
Training data cutoff
2026-01