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Head-to-head comparison

Gemma 3 12B vs Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B

Gemma 3 12B (Google) and Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B (NVIDIA) 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 17 August 2026

As of 17 August 2026, Gemma 3 12B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#180 vs #181); Gemma 3 12B is 1.3× cheaper per output token ($0.15/1M vs $0.20/1M); and Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B offers the longer context window (262K vs 131K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #180 against #181 (20.3 vs 18.9 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.15/1M output tokens against $0.20/1M, about 1.3× cheaper.

Choose Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B if…

  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 131K.
  • you want provider choice — 3 listed API providers against 1.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1362 against 1316.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 7.2 against 5.5.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B was listed 14 December 2025, Gemma 3 12B 13 March 2025.

Gemma 3 12B vs Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemma 3 12B and Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B
FieldGemma 3 12BGoogleNemotron 3 Nano 30B A3BNVIDIA
ModelCap Index position#180#181
Index score20.318.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.05$0.05
Output price / 1M tokens$0.15$0.20
Context window131K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens16K262K
API providers listed13
Weight accessGated accessRestricted license
Input modalitiesText, ImageText
First listed13 March 202514 December 2025
PublisherGoogleNVIDIA

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

Benchmark scores: Gemma 3 12B vs Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B

Public benchmark boards where Gemma 3 12B or Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B has a published result
BoardGemma 3 12BNemotron 3 Nano 30B A3BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13161293–134013621352–1373BF16Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)30.4Prompt—Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis5.5intelligence-index7.2intelligence-indexNemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B

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 Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B: common questions

Is Gemma 3 12B better than Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B?

Gemma 3 12B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 17 August 2026: #180 against #181. 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 Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B?

Gemma 3 12B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.15/1M against $0.20/1M. Input tokens are $0.05/1M for Gemma 3 12B and $0.05/1M for Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 3 12B or Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B?

Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 131K.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 3 12B or Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B?

Arena coding: Gemma 3 12B 1316, Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B 1362 — Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B leads.

Are Gemma 3 12B and Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B open-weight models?

Gemma 3 12B: Gated access. Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B: Restricted license. 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 Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Gemma 3 12B and 3 for Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B, 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 Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 17 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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