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Head-to-head comparison

gemma 4 12B it vs Gemma 4 26B A4B

gemma 4 12B it (Google) and Gemma 4 26B A4B (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 26B A4B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#36 vs #44).

Which should you choose?

Choose gemma 4 12B it if…

  • you want the more recently listed model — gemma 4 12B it was listed 23 May 2026, Gemma 4 26B A4B 3 April 2026.

Choose Gemma 4 26B A4B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #36 against #44 (65.0 vs 61.4 points).
  • you want provider choice — 9 listed API providers against 0.

gemma 4 12B it vs Gemma 4 26B A4B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of gemma 4 12B it and Gemma 4 26B A4B
Fieldgemma 4 12B itGoogleGemma 4 26B A4BGoogle
ModelCap Index position#44#36
Index score61.465.0
EvidenceEstimatedMeasured
Input price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.07
Output price / 1M tokensUnlisted$0.34
Context window— tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens—16K
API providers listed09
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, AudioImage, Text, Video
First listed23 May 20263 April 2026
PublisherGoogleGoogle

Evidence: 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 · 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 4 12B it vs Gemma 4 26B A4B

Public benchmark boards where gemma 4 12B it or Gemma 4 26B A4B has a published result
Boardgemma 4 12B itGemma 4 26B A4BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)—14811466–1496Only one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis—40.4%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Gemma 4 26B A4B (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=falseOnly one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis—11.5%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Gemma 4 26B A4B (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=falseOnly 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 4 12B it vs Gemma 4 26B A4B: common questions

Is gemma 4 12B it better than Gemma 4 26B A4B?

Gemma 4 26B A4B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #36 against #44. 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 4 12B it cheaper than Gemma 4 26B A4B?

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 4 12B it or Gemma 4 26B A4B?

Both publish a —-token context window.

Which is better for coding, gemma 4 12B it or Gemma 4 26B A4B?

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 4 12B it and Gemma 4 26B A4B open-weight models?

gemma 4 12B it: Open weights. Gemma 4 26B A4B: 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 4 12B it and Gemma 4 26B A4B?

ModelCap currently lists 0 API providers for gemma 4 12B it and 9 for Gemma 4 26B A4B, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this gemma 4 12B it vs Gemma 4 26B A4B 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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