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Head-to-head comparison

Gemma 3 27B vs gemma 4 12B it

Gemma 3 27B (Google) and gemma 4 12B 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 12B it holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#44 vs #115); and gemma 4 12B it ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemma 3 27B if…

  • you want provider choice — 4 listed API providers against 0.

Choose gemma 4 12B it if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #44 against #115 (61.4 vs 35.9 points).
  • you want to self-host: gemma 4 12B it ships open weights while Gemma 3 27B is gated access.
  • you want the more recently listed model — gemma 4 12B it was listed 23 May 2026, Gemma 3 27B 12 March 2025.

Gemma 3 27B vs gemma 4 12B it: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemma 3 27B and gemma 4 12B it
FieldGemma 3 27BGooglegemma 4 12B itGoogle
ModelCap Index position#115#44
Index score35.961.4
EvidenceMeasuredEstimated
Input price / 1M tokens$0.08Unlisted
Output price / 1M tokens$0.45Unlisted
Context window131K tokens— tokens
Max output tokens118K—
API providers listed40
Weight accessGated accessOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, ImageText, Image, Audio
First listed12 March 202523 May 2026
PublisherGoogleGoogle

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · publisher-corpus-prior over 182 held-out anchors (7%); launch card against 3 resolved peers on 6 rows (93%); no cross-lab optimism probe available; shrunk 0.3 up toward the measured corpus. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Gemma 3 27B vs gemma 4 12B it

Public benchmark boards where Gemma 3 27B or gemma 4 12B it has a published result
BoardGemma 3 27Bgemma 4 12B itLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13581351–1365—Only one result
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)29.5Prompt—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis4.9intelligence-index:v4.3:non-reasoning—Only one result
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis4.5%terminal-bench:2.1:terminus-2:e2b:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Gemma 3 27B":reasoning=false—Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis10.5%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Gemma 3 27B":reasoning=false—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis4.4%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Gemma 3 27B":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 27B vs gemma 4 12B it: common questions

Is Gemma 3 27B better than gemma 4 12B it?

gemma 4 12B it ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #44 against #115. 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 do not overlap, but the aggregate Index does not predict performance on every task; compare the relevant benchmark configurations before choosing.

Is Gemma 3 27B cheaper than gemma 4 12B 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 27B or gemma 4 12B it?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 3 27B or gemma 4 12B 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 27B and gemma 4 12B it open-weight models?

Gemma 3 27B: Gated access. gemma 4 12B 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 27B and gemma 4 12B it?

ModelCap currently lists 4 API providers for Gemma 3 27B and 0 for gemma 4 12B it, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Gemma 3 27B vs gemma 4 12B 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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