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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Gemma 2 27B vs Gemma 3 12B IT

Gemma 3 12B IT comes out ahead, 57 to 35 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Google

    Gemma 2 27B

    Released Jul 13, 2024

    35/100
    • ECI122.1
    • Price$0.65 / $0.65
    • Context8K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 2 27B
  2. Our pick

    Google

    Gemma 3 12B IT

    Released Mar 12, 2025

    57/100
    • ECI123.5
    • Price$0.05 / $0.15
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 3 12B IT

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemma 3 12B IT is our pick

Gemma 3 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Gemma 2 27B (35). It leads on capability, price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGemma 3 12B ITCapabilities Index (ECI): Gemma 3 12B IT 123.5 · Gemma 2 27B 122.1
  • Lowest priceGemma 3 12B ITGemma 3 12B IT $0.075 · Gemma 2 27B $0.65 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGemma 3 12B ITGemma 3 12B IT 131,072 · Gemma 2 27B 8,192 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemma 3 12B ITGemma 2 27B: Text · Gemma 3 12B IT: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemma 2 27BGemma 3 12B IT
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%4244
Price25%5699
Inputs & features15%050
Context window10%025
Overall100%35/10057/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Gemma 2 27B vs Gemma 3 12B IT specifications side by side
SpecificationGemma 2 27BGoogleGemma 3 12B ITGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)122.1123.5 (best)
ECI rank#152 of 165#151 of 165 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions36.5%39.5% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics1.4%16.7% (best)
Price per million tokens
Input$0.65$0.05 (best)
Output$0.65$0.15 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.65$0.075 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 3 providersMedian of 12 providers
Limits
Context window8,192 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Max output2,048 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingNoYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID——
API providers313 (best)
ReleasedJul 13, 2024Mar 12, 2025
Knowledge cutoffJun 30, 2024Aug 2024
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Gemma 2 27B$7.80
  • Gemma 3 12B IT$0.80
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemma 2 27B or Gemma 3 12B IT?

Gemma 3 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Gemma 2 27B (35). It leads on capability, price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Gemma 2 27B or Gemma 3 12B IT?

Gemma 3 12B IT is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (median across 12 API providers). Gemma 2 27B costs $0.65 input / $0.65 output per million tokens (median across 3 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.075 per million tokens for Gemma 3 12B IT versus $0.65 for Gemma 2 27B (8.7× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Gemma 3 12B IT scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemma 3 12B IT 123.5 (#151 of 165) and Gemma 2 27B 122.1 (#152 of 165). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (116.9–128.4 vs 115.8–124.1), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemma 3 12B IT 39.5%, Gemma 2 27B 36.5%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Gemma 3 12B IT 16.7%, Gemma 2 27B 1.4%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 2 27B and Gemma 3 12B IT yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Gemma 3 12B IT leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Note that Gemma 2 27B does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemma 3 12B IT has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 8,192 for Gemma 2 27B. Maximum output per response: Gemma 2 27B up to 2,048, Gemma 3 12B IT up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemma 2 27B accepts text; Gemma 3 12B IT accepts text and images. Gemma 3 12B IT handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Gemma 3 12B IT is the newest, released Mar 12, 2025. Gemma 2 27B came out Jul 13, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Gemma 2 27B Jun 30, 2024, Gemma 3 12B IT Aug 2024.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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