Gemma 3n 4B vs Llama Guard 4 12B
| Signal | Gemma 3n 4B | Delta | Llama Guard 4 12B |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 33 | -17 | |
Pricing | 100 | +0 | |
Context window size | 72 | -24 | |
Recency | 52 | +4 | |
Output Capacity | 20 | -50 | |
| Overall Result | 2 wins | of 5 | 3 wins |
Score History
40
current score
Tied
right now
40
current score
Gemma 3n 4B
Llama Guard 4 12B
Meta
Gemma 3n 4B saves you $15.00/month
That's $180.00/year compared to Llama Guard 4 12B at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | Gemma 3n 4B | Llama Guard 4 12B | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 40 | 40 | -- |
| Rank | #333 | #335 | Gemma 3n 4B |
| Quality Rank | #333 | #335 | Gemma 3n 4B |
| Adoption Rank | #333 | #335 | Gemma 3n 4B |
| Parameters | 4B | 12B | -- |
| Context Window | 33K | 1049K | Llama Guard 4 12B |
| Pricing | $0.06/$0.12/M | $0.18/$0.18/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 33 | 50 | Llama Guard 4 12B |
| Pricing | 100 | 100 | Gemma 3n 4B |
| Context window size | 72 | 96 | Llama Guard 4 12B |
| Recency | 52 | 48 | Gemma 3n 4B |
| Output Capacity | 20 | 70 | Llama Guard 4 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 #333), placing it in the top -14% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 40/100 (rank #335), placing it in the top -15% 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 3n 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
Choose Llama Guard 4 12B when you need:
- Processing long documents or large codebases (1049K token context)
- Multimodal workflows that require image understanding
- Self-hosted deployments where you need full control over the model
Gemma 3n 4B offers 50% better value per quality point. At 1M tokens/day, you'd spend $2.70/month with Gemma 3n 4B vs $5.40/month with Llama Guard 4 12B - a $2.70 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 3n 4B also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (1049K tokens) can process longer documents, contracts, and research papers in a single pass
Batch data extraction
Lower output pricing ($0.12/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 3n 4B and Llama Guard 4 12B 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 3n 4B
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Gemma 3n 4B
50% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
Gemma 3n 4B
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
Gemma 3n 4B
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
Gemma 3n 4B
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by Google
- Choose for Quality - Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
- Choose for Cost - 50% lower pricing; better value at scale
- 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 3n 4B | Llama Guard 4 12B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input)differs | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Mode | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
Gemma 3n 4B
Llama Guard 4 12B
Meta
Gemma 3n 4B saves you $0.2880/month
That's 53% cheaper than Llama Guard 4 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 3n 4B | Llama Guard 4 12B |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 33K | 1.0M |
| Max Output Tokens | -- | 16,384 |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
| Created | May 20, 2025 | Apr 30, 2025 |