
With the September 18, 2026 update, the Gemini API offers the 2.5 models only to users who have actively used them in the past[1]. For new projects, Google points to 3.5 Flash-Lite or 3.8 Flash[1].
The deprecations page carries the same restriction and gives the reason as keeping the service reliable for every user[2].
2.5 Pro, 2.5 Flash and 2.5 Flash-Lite have no shutdown date announced yet[2].
The image generation model gemini-2.5-flash-image shuts down on October 2, 2026[2]. Its listed replacement is gemini-3.1-flash-image-preview[2].
The text-to-speech models gemini-2.5-flash-preview-tts and gemini-2.5-pro-preview-tts have no shutdown date either[2]. Their replacements are 3.8 Flash TTS or 3.8 Flash-Lite TTS[2]. Both became generally available on September 22[1].
2.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.10 input and $0.40 output per million tokens[3]. 3.5 Flash-Lite, which Google recommends for new projects, costs $0.30 input and $2.50 output, three times the input rate and 6.25 times the output rate of 2.5 Flash-Lite[3].
Leaving audio aside, 3.5 Flash-Lite has the same rates as 2.5 Flash[3]. 3.8 Flash costs $0.75 input and $3.75 output through December 31, 2026, rising to $1.50 and $7.50 on January 1, 2027[3].