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Head-to-head comparison

Gemma 3 12B vs gemma 4 E2B it

Gemma 3 12B (Google) and gemma 4 E2B it (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 9 September 2026

As of 9 September 2026, gemma 4 E2B it holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#106 vs #133); and gemma 4 E2B it ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • you want provider choice — 1 listed API providers against 0.

Choose gemma 4 E2B it if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #106 against #133 (39.3 vs 30.0 points).
  • you want to self-host: gemma 4 E2B it ships open weights while Gemma 3 12B is gated access.
  • you want the more recently listed model — gemma 4 E2B it was listed 2 March 2026, Gemma 3 12B 13 March 2025.

Gemma 3 12B vs gemma 4 E2B it: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemma 3 12B and gemma 4 E2B it
FieldGemma 3 12BGooglegemma 4 E2B itGoogle
ModelCap Index position#133#106
Index score30.039.3
EvidenceMeasuredEstimated
Input price / 1M tokens$0.05Unlisted
Output price / 1M tokens$0.15Unlisted
Context window131K tokens— tokens
Max output tokens16K—
API providers listed10
Weight accessGated accessOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, ImageText, Image, Audio
First listed13 March 20252 March 2026
PublisherGoogleGoogle

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · publisher-corpus-prior over 182 held-out anchors (9%); launch card against 3 resolved peers on 5 rows (91%); no cross-lab optimism probe available; shrunk 2.7 up toward the measured corpus. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Gemma 3 12B vs gemma 4 E2B it

Public benchmark boards where Gemma 3 12B or gemma 4 E2B it has a published result
BoardGemma 3 12Bgemma 4 E2B itLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13161293–1340—Only one result
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)30.4Prompt—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis3.8intelligence-index:v4.3:non-reasoning—Only one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis0.0%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Gemma 3 12B":reasoning=false—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis10.8%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Gemma 3 12B":reasoning=false—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis4.2%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Gemma 3 12B":reasoning=false—Only 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.

Gemma 3 12B vs gemma 4 E2B it: common questions

Is Gemma 3 12B better than gemma 4 E2B it?

gemma 4 E2B it ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #106 against #133. 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. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is Gemma 3 12B cheaper than gemma 4 E2B it?

At least one of the two has no listed API price on ModelCap right now, so no price comparison is made.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 3 12B or gemma 4 E2B it?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 3 12B or gemma 4 E2B it?

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 Gemma 3 12B and gemma 4 E2B it open-weight models?

Gemma 3 12B: Gated access. gemma 4 E2B it: Open weights. 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 Gemma 3 12B and gemma 4 E2B it?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Gemma 3 12B and 0 for gemma 4 E2B it, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Gemma 3 12B vs gemma 4 E2B it comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 9 September 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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