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Head-to-head comparison

Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen3 30B A3B

Gemma 3 12B (Google) and Qwen3 30B A3B (Qwen) 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 3 September 2026

As of 3 September 2026, Qwen3 30B A3B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#111 vs #175); Gemma 3 12B is 3.3× cheaper per output token ($0.15/1M vs $0.50/1M); and Qwen3 30B A3B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.15/1M output tokens against $0.50/1M, about 3.3× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.05/1M against $0.12/1M.

Choose Qwen3 30B A3B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #111 against #175 (24.0 vs 19.5 points).
  • you want to self-host: Qwen3 30B A3B ships open weights while Gemma 3 12B is gated access.
  • you want provider choice — 2 listed API providers against 1.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1386 against 1316.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3 30B A3B was listed 28 April 2025, Gemma 3 12B 13 March 2025.

Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen3 30B A3B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemma 3 12B and Qwen3 30B A3B
FieldGemma 3 12BGoogleQwen3 30B A3BQwen
ModelCap Index position#175#111
Index score19.524.0
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.05$0.12
Output price / 1M tokens$0.15$0.50
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens16K16K
API providers listed12
Weight accessGated accessOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, ImageText
First listed13 March 202528 April 2025
PublisherGoogleQwen

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 Qwen3 30B A3B

Public benchmark boards where Gemma 3 12B or Qwen3 30B A3B has a published result
BoardGemma 3 12BQwen3 30B A3BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13161293–134013861377–1395Qwen3 30B A3B
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)30.4Prompt—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis5.5intelligence-index—Only one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis0.0%terminal-bench-2.1—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis10.8%tau2-bench-telecom—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis4.2%humanitys-last-exam—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 Qwen3 30B A3B: common questions

Is Gemma 3 12B better than Qwen3 30B A3B?

Qwen3 30B A3B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 3 September 2026: #111 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 Gemma 3 12B cheaper than Qwen3 30B A3B?

Gemma 3 12B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.15/1M against $0.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.05/1M for Gemma 3 12B and $0.12/1M for Qwen3 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 Qwen3 30B A3B?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 3 12B or Qwen3 30B A3B?

Arena coding: Gemma 3 12B 1316, Qwen3 30B A3B 1386 — Qwen3 30B A3B leads.

Are Gemma 3 12B and Qwen3 30B A3B open-weight models?

Gemma 3 12B: Gated access. Qwen3 30B A3B: 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 Qwen3 30B A3B?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Gemma 3 12B and 2 for Qwen3 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 Qwen3 30B A3B comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 3 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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