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Head-to-head comparison

Aion-3.0 vs Gemma 3 12B

Aion-3.0 (Aion Labs) and Gemma 3 12B (Google) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 18 August 2026

As of 18 August 2026, Aion-3.0 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#115 vs #175); and Gemma 3 12B is 40× cheaper per output token ($0.15/1M vs $6.00/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Aion-3.0 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #115 against #175 (21.4 vs 20.3 points).
  • you want the more recently listed model — Aion-3.0 was listed 7 July 2026, Gemma 3 12B 13 March 2025.

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.15/1M output tokens against $6.00/1M, about 40× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.05/1M against $3.00/1M.

Aion-3.0 vs Gemma 3 12B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Aion-3.0 and Gemma 3 12B
FieldAion-3.0Aion LabsGemma 3 12BGoogle
ModelCap Index position#115#175
Index score21.420.3
EvidenceEstimatedMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$3.00$0.05
Output price / 1M tokens$6.00$0.15
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens33K16K
API providers listed11
Weight accessAPI onlyGated access
Input modalitiesTextText, Image
First listed7 July 202613 March 2025
PublisherAion LabsGoogle

Evidence: global corpus prior · leave-one-anchor-out calibrated · 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Aion-3.0 vs Gemma 3 12B

Public benchmark boards where Aion-3.0 or Gemma 3 12B has a published result
BoardAion-3.0Gemma 3 12BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)—13161293–1340Only one result
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)—30.4PromptOnly one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—5.5intelligence-indexOnly one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Aion-3.0 vs Gemma 3 12B: common questions

Is Aion-3.0 better than Gemma 3 12B?

Aion-3.0 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #115 against #175. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is Aion-3.0 cheaper than Gemma 3 12B?

Gemma 3 12B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.15/1M against $6.00/1M. Input tokens are $3.00/1M for Aion-3.0 and $0.05/1M for Gemma 3 12B. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Aion-3.0 or Gemma 3 12B?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Aion-3.0 or Gemma 3 12B?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are Aion-3.0 and Gemma 3 12B open-weight models?

Aion-3.0: API only. Gemma 3 12B: Gated access. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Aion-3.0 and Gemma 3 12B?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Aion-3.0 and 1 for Gemma 3 12B, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Aion-3.0 vs Gemma 3 12B comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 18 August 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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