Gemma 3 12B vs Gemma 3 4B
| Signal | Gemma 3 12B | Delta | Gemma 3 4B |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 67 | +17 | |
Pricing | 100 | -- | |
Context window size | 81 | -- | |
Recency | 40 | -- | |
Output Capacity | 70 | -- | |
| Overall Result | 1 wins | of 5 | 0 wins |
Score History
40
current score
Tied
right now
40
current score
Gemma 3 12B
Gemma 3 4B
Gemma 3 4B saves you $2.50/month
That's $30.00/year compared to Gemma 3 12B at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | Gemma 3 12B | Gemma 3 4B | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 40 | 40 | -- |
| Rank | #340 | #339 | Gemma 3 4B |
| Quality Rank | #340 | #339 | Gemma 3 4B |
| Adoption Rank | #340 | #339 | Gemma 3 4B |
| Parameters | 12B | 4B | -- |
| Context Window | 131K | 131K | -- |
| Pricing | $0.05/$0.15/M | $0.05/$0.10/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 67 | 50 | Gemma 3 12B |
| Pricing | 100 | 100 | Gemma 3 12B |
| Context window size | 81 | 81 | Gemma 3 12B |
| Recency | 40 | 40 | Gemma 3 12B |
| Output Capacity | 70 | 70 | Gemma 3 12B |
Our score (0-100) is driven by benchmark performance (90%) from Arena Elo ratings, MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations. Capabilities and context window serve as tiebreakers (10%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 40/100 (rank #340), placing it in the top -17% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 40/100 (rank #339), placing it in the top -17% of all 290 models tracked.
With only a 0-point gap, these models are in the same performance tier. The practical difference in output quality is minimal - your choice should depend on pricing, latency requirements, and specific feature needs.
Choose Gemma 3 12B when you need:
- Agentic applications using tool/function calling
- Self-hosted deployments where you need full control over the model
Choose Gemma 3 4B when you need:
- High-volume production workloads where API costs must be minimized
- Self-hosted deployments where you need full control over the model
Gemma 3 4B offers 25% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $2.25/month with Gemma 3 4B vs $3.00/month with Gemma 3 12B - a $0.75 monthly difference.
Both models have comparable response speeds. For most applications, the latency difference is negligible.
When latency matters most: Interactive chatbots, IDE code completion, real-time translation, and user-facing applications where response time directly impacts experience. For batch processing, background summarization, or offline analysis, latency is less critical.
Code generation & review
Based on overall model capabilities and architecture for coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Suitable for user-facing chat with competitive response times. Gemma 3 4B also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (131K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.10/M) reduces costs when processing thousands of records daily
Creative writing & content
Higher overall composite score (40/100) correlates with better nuance, coherence, and style in long-form content
Image understanding & OCR
Supports vision input - can analyze screenshots, diagrams, photos, and scanned documents directly
Gemma 3 12B and Gemma 3 4B are extremely close in overall performance (only 0 points apart). Your best choice depends entirely on which specific strengths matter most for your use case.
By Use Case
Best for Quality
Gemma 3 12B
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Gemma 3 4B
25% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
Gemma 3 12B
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
Gemma 3 12B
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
Gemma 3 12B
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by Google
- Choose for Quality - Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
- Choose for Reliability - Higher uptime and faster response speeds
- Choose for Prototyping - Stronger community support and better developer experience
- Choose for Production - Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
| Capability | Gemma 3 12B | Gemma 3 4B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input) | ||
| Function Callingdiffers | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
Gemma 3 12B
Gemma 3 4B
Gemma 3 4B saves you $0.0600/month
That's 22% cheaper than Gemma 3 12B at 1,000 tokens/request and 100 requests/day.
Assumes 60% input / 40% output token ratio per request. Actual costs may vary based on your usage pattern.
| Parameter | Gemma 3 12B | Gemma 3 4B |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 131K | 131K |
| Max Output Tokens | 16,384 | 16,384 |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
| Created | Mar 13, 2025 | Mar 13, 2025 |