Skip to content
ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct

Gemma 3 12B (Google) and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct (Meta) 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, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#175 vs #177); and Gemma 3 12B is 2.1× cheaper per output token ($0.15/1M vs $0.32/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.15/1M output tokens against $0.32/1M, about 2.1× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.05/1M against $0.10/1M.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Gemma 3 12B was listed 13 March 2025, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct 6 December 2024.

Choose Llama 3.3 70B Instruct if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #175 against #177 (20.6 vs 20.3 points).
  • you want provider choice — 12 listed API providers against 1.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1346 against 1316.
  • BFCL V4 is your yardstick — 31.9 against 30.4.

Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemma 3 12B and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
FieldGemma 3 12BGoogleLlama 3.3 70B InstructMeta
ModelCap Index position#177#175
Index score20.320.6
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.05$0.10
Output price / 1M tokens$0.15$0.32
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens16K16K
API providers listed112
Weight accessGated accessGated access
Input modalitiesText, ImageText
First listed13 March 20256 December 2024
PublisherGoogleMeta

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct

Public benchmark boards where Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct has a published result
BoardGemma 3 12BLlama 3.3 70B InstructLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13161293–134013461339–1352Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)30.4Prompt31.9Function callingLlama 3.3 70B Instruct
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis5.5intelligence-index—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 Llama 3.3 70B Instruct: common questions

Is Gemma 3 12B better than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Llama 3.3 70B Instruct ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #175 against #177. 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 Gemma 3 12B cheaper than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Gemma 3 12B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.15/1M against $0.32/1M. Input tokens are $0.05/1M for Gemma 3 12B and $0.10/1M for Llama 3.3 70B Instruct. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Arena coding: Gemma 3 12B 1316, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct 1346 — Llama 3.3 70B Instruct leads.

Are Gemma 3 12B and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct open-weight models?

Gemma 3 12B: Gated access. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct: 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 Gemma 3 12B and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Gemma 3 12B and 12 for Llama 3.3 70B Instruct, 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 Llama 3.3 70B Instruct 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.

Explore further