Which Gemini Model to Choose – 1.5 Flash, 1.5 Pro, Deep Research, 2.0 Flash or Advanced

Open the Gemini app or website right now and you’ll be bombarded with an entire lineup of AI models—Gemini 1.5 Flash, 1.5 Pro, 1.5 Pro with Deep Research, 2.0 Flash Experimental, and 2.0 Experimental Advanced. It is overwhelming for most—why there are so many AI models? How do they differ? And most importantly, which one is right for your specific task? Which Google Gemini AI model should you choose?

Google does show a small description under each model. But honestly, it doesn’t do a great job of explaining where each model excels, differentiating features, or cons.

I’ll break down each Gemini model in simple terms here. Let’s take a deeper look at their strengths and weaknesses. So you can decide which Google Gemini model to choose and why.

Gemini 1.5 Pro

Currently, this is the stable flagship Gemini model that can handle fairly complex tasks. Whether it is writing a piece of text in the exact style you mentioned, crafting a study guide based on your entire syllabus, or even generating code snippets for your project, Gemini 1.5 Pro has got you covered. Plus, it also has access to real-time information, so you can even ask questions related to current news, etc.

But that’s not all—Gemini 1.5 Pro is a multi-modal model, capable of understanding not just text, but also images, audio, and even video. Compared to other flagship models like GPT 4o, Gemini 1.5 Pro comes with a long context window of up to 2 million tokens. That means it can handle large data sets as input. Need to summarize a 3000-page PDF? No problem— the model can handle it for you. You can even upload entire code folders into the model.

All in all, Gemini 1.5 Pro is the default model you need to choose for most tasks. However, this model is only available to Gemini Advanced subscribers.

Gemini 1.5 Flash

The Flash model is a speedier but lighter version of the Pro model. It’s perfect for quick tasks like summaries or casual chats. While it can handle complex tasks like writing, brainstorming, and solving problems, the results might not be as polished as the Pro model. Like Gemini Pro, it can access real-time information and give you quick answers from the web.

Although it’s multi-modal, Google allows you to upload only images in the Flash model. No PDFs, documents, or code files are allowed yet. It does have a long context window of 1 million tokens, which is great for a lite model, but not quite as extensive as the 1.5 Pro of course.

Think of the 1.5 Flash as a smaller, faster version of the 1.5 Pro. Pro model is already pretty fast, so the speed difference isn’t huge. You might as well stick with the 1.5 Pro for most things. But unlike the Pro, the Flash version is available to everyone for free – no subscriptions needed. Also, if you’re a developer looking to add an AI chat to your app, the Gemini 1.5 Flash model could be a good cost-effective option.

Gemini 1.5 Pro with Deep Research

As I noted before, Gemini 1.5 Pro has a long context window of 2 million tokens. Benefit? The main advantage is that you can upload larger files and Gemini will remember the info from the chat for a long time. Deep Research is just another feature that takes advantage of this long context. When you ask it to search for something, instead of checking a couple of sources, the model checks dozens or even hundreds of sources. Then, it gives you an easy-to-read report summarizing everything it found.

You won’t get the same surface-level information lighter models come up with links to webpages you could find in a Google Search. Rather, it explores relevant sub-topics to paint a bigger and fuller picture. For example, if you ask it to research chess openings, it would also explore other details like popular openings, how to play them, the best resources to learn them, how chess openings have evolved, and even how to choose the right opening for your playing style. This gives you a 360-degree overview of the task at hand.

Sure, it can take a few minutes to generate reports, but this is a good starting point if you want to learn something new. It basically tries to summarize everything available on the web.

However, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. Even though the 1.5 Pro model is multi-modal, you can’t upload files. Second, it’s only available to Gemini Advanced subscribers on the web app. Support for the mobile app is coming soon.

Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental

2.0 Flash is currently in beta (experimental) and built on the foundation of Gemini 1.5 Flash. This new version takes things a notch higher. In benchmarks, it not only outperforms the 1.5 Flash, but even beats the 1.5 Pro, particularly in areas like coding, math, and reasoning. Also, it is faster than the 1.5 Flash model. It’s like getting the best of both worlds – the speed of the Flash and the performance of the Pro.

Google says Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental will eventually be able to create images and audio, but those features aren’t available yet. Another cool thing I noticed is the improved spatial understanding. This means it can identify and locate objects in images and videos more accurately allowing for some pretty sophisticated visual analysis. It can also connect with other tools like Google Search, and Maps and execute code. This lets it grab real-time information and perform actions.

Because it’s experimental, you will see some unexpected or sometimes inconsistent results. So unless you want to test the new model’s capability, I don’t recommend relying on the results as of now. That said, in my experience, it’s been pretty stable. It is available for both paid and free users on the Gemini app. So in a way, currently this is the model that gives you 1.5 Pro performance for free.

Gemini 2.0 Experimental Advanced

Just like the 2.0 Flash, the 2.0 model builds upon the Gemini 1.5 Pro. Google says the model has improved performance, especially in aspects like coding, math, and reasoning, and it can handle multi-step instructions more effectively. While Google released this model to the public, there’s not enough info on its benchmarks or features.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. Unlike other Gemini models, it can’t access real-time information, and you can’t upload images and files yet. But if you want to experiment with the Gemini’s most capable model yet, you can use this model.

Bonus – Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking

Currently, Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking model is unavailable on the Gemini app and website. However, you can access this model from the Google AI Studio app. It’s a reasoning model so instead of replying to the question instantly, it takes time to think through the process.

It uses step-by-step reasoning and logic to fact-check itself. It can be potentially suited for solving complex and challenging problems, particularly in programming, math, and physics. As a result, these reasoning models are a bit slower and sometimes even can take minutes to generate results. 

Also Read:

• Google Gemini Now Remembers Your Preferences in Memory Like ChatGPT
• Google Gemini Gems Now Supports File Uploads to its Knowledge
• Create Google Calendar Events From Gemini Directly
• Gemini Now Lets You Call and Message on Android Lock Screen

Which Gemini Model to Choose – Table Comparison

• Gemini 1.5 Pro – The default model for all Gemini Advanced subscribers – multi-modal and has real-time information.
• Gemini 1.5 Flash – Lite version of Gemini 1.5 Pro focuses on speed and is available to free users.
• Gemini 1.5 Pro with Deep Research – Dedicated to checking dozens of sources online and compiling a report on the topic.
• Gemini 2.0 Flash Experimental – Beta Flash model is faster than 1.5 Flash and performs better than the 1.5 Pro. Available to free users.
• Gemini 2.0 Experimental Advanced – The most capable experimental model, focuses on enhanced coding, math, and reasoning abilities. Currently in Beta and available only to Gemini Advanced subscribers

You can compare the models side by side from the Google AI Studio app. Here’s a table comparing all Google Gemini models and what they are good for based on use case:

And that’s it, folks.