| Signal | Gemma 3 12B (free) | Delta | Gemma 3 4B |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 33 | -17 | |
Pricing | 100 | +0 | |
Context window size | 72 | -9 | |
Recency | 63 | -- | |
Output Capacity | 65 | +45 | |
| Overall Result | 2 wins | of 5 | 2 wins |
Score History
40
current score
Tied
right now
40
current score
Gemma 3 12B (free) saves you $8.00/month
That's $96.00/year compared to Gemma 3 4B at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | Gemma 3 12B (free) | Gemma 3 4B | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 40 | 40 | -- |
| Rank | #255 | #254 | Gemma 3 4B |
| Quality Rank | #255 | #254 | Gemma 3 4B |
| Adoption Rank | #255 | #254 | Gemma 3 4B |
| Parameters | 12B | 4B | -- |
| Context Window | 33K | 131K | Gemma 3 4B |
| Pricing | Free | $0.04/$0.08/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 33 | 50 | Gemma 3 4B |
| Pricing | 100 | 100 | Gemma 3 12B (free) |
| Context window size | 72 | 81 | Gemma 3 4B |
| Recency | 63 | 63 | Gemma 3 12B (free) |
| Output Capacity | 65 | 20 | Gemma 3 12B (free) |
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%). Here's what the scores mean for these two models:
Scores 40/100 (rank #255), placing it in the top 12% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 40/100 (rank #254), placing it in the top 13% 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.
Compare the cost per quality point to find the best value for your specific workload.
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
Higher benchmark score (0/100) indicates stronger performance on coding tasks like generating functions, debugging, and refactoring
Customer support chatbot
Faster response time (speed score 0/100) is critical for user-facing chat. Gemma 3 12B (free) 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 ($0.00/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 (free) 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.
Best for Quality
Gemma 3 12B (free)
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Gemma 3 12B (free)
100% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
Gemma 3 12B (free)
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
Gemma 3 12B (free)
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
Gemma 3 12B (free)
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by Google
| Capability | Gemma 3 12B (free) | Gemma 3 4B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input) | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Modediffers | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
Gemma 3 12B (free) saves you $0.1680/month
That's 100% cheaper than Gemma 3 4B 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 (free) | Gemma 3 4B |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 33K | 131K |
| Max Output Tokens | 8,192 | -- |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
| Created | Mar 13, 2025 | Mar 13, 2025 |
Both Gemma 3 12B (free) and Gemma 3 4B score 40/100, making them extremely close competitors. Choose based on pricing, provider ecosystem, or specific capability requirements.
Gemma 3 12B (free) is ranked #255 and Gemma 3 4B is ranked #254 out of 290+ AI models. Rankings use a composite score combining benchmark performance (90%) from MMLU, GPQA, HumanEval, SWE-bench, and 15+ standardized evaluations, with capabilities and context window as tiebreakers (10%). Scores update hourly.
Gemma 3 12B (free) is cheaper at $0.00/M output tokens vs Gemma 3 4B's $0.08/M output tokens - 80.0x more expensive. Input token pricing: Gemma 3 12B (free) at $0.00/M vs Gemma 3 4B at $0.04/M.
Gemma 3 4B has a larger context window of 131,072 tokens compared to Gemma 3 12B (free)'s 32,768 tokens. A larger context window means the model can process longer documents and conversations.