| Signal | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) | Delta | R1 |
|---|---|---|---|
Capabilities | 83 | +33 | |
Benchmarks | 72 | -1 | |
Pricing | 100 | +3 | |
Context window size | 86 | +10 | |
Recency | 100 | +48 | |
Output Capacity | 75 | +5 | |
| Overall Result | 5 wins | of 6 | 1 wins |
Score History
73
current score
Tied
right now
73
current score
DeepSeek
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) saves you $195.00/month
That's $2340.00/year compared to R1 at your current usage level of 100K calls/month.
| Metric | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) | R1 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 73 | 73 | -- |
| Rank | #66 | #68 | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) |
| Quality Rank | #66 | #68 | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) |
| Adoption Rank | #66 | #68 | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) |
| Parameters | 26B | -- | -- |
| Context Window | 262K | 64K | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) |
| Pricing | Free | $0.70/$2.50/M | -- |
| Signal Scores | |||
| Capabilities | 83 | 50 | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) |
| Benchmarks | 72 | 73 | R1 |
| Pricing | 100 | 98 | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) |
| Context window size | 86 | 76 | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) |
| Recency | 100 | 52 | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) |
| Output Capacity | 75 | 70 | Gemma 4 26B A4B (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%). Learn more about our methodology.
Scores 73/100 (rank #66), placing it in the top 78% of all 290 models tracked.
Scores 73/100 (rank #68), placing it in the top 77% 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 4 26B A4B (free) also offers lower per-token costs for high-volume support
Long document analysis
Larger context window (262K 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 (73/100) 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 4 26B A4B (free) and R1 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 4 26B A4B (free)
Marginally better benchmark scores; both are excellent
Best for Cost
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free)
100% lower pricing; better value at scale
Best for Reliability
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free)
Higher uptime and faster response speeds
Best for Prototyping
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free)
Stronger community support and better developer experience
Best for Production
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free)
Wider enterprise adoption and proven at scale
by Google
| Capability | Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) | R1 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision (Image Input)differs | ||
| Function Calling | ||
| Streaming | ||
| JSON Modediffers | ||
| Reasoning | ||
| Web Search | ||
| Image Output |
DeepSeek
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) saves you $4.26/month
That's 100% cheaper than R1 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 4 26B A4B (free) | R1 |
|---|---|---|
| Context Window | 262K | 64K |
| Max Output Tokens | 32,768 | 16,000 |
| Open Source | Yes | Yes |
| Created | Apr 3, 2026 | Jan 20, 2025 |