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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemma 3 12B IT vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite comes out ahead, 71 to 57 on our weighted score, though Gemma 3 12B IT is 2.3× cheaper per token.

  1. 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
  2. Our pick

    Google

    Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

    Released Jun 17, 2025

    71/100
    • ECI133.9
    • Price$0.10 / $0.40
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is our pick

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Gemma 3 12B IT (57). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. Gemma 3 12B IT wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGemini 2.5 Flash-LiteCapabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite 133.9 · Gemma 3 12B IT 123.5
  • Lowest priceGemma 3 12B ITGemma 3 12B IT $0.075 · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite $0.175 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextGemini 2.5 Flash-LiteGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite 1,048,576 · Gemma 3 12B IT 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemini 2.5 Flash-LiteGemma 3 12B IT: Text, Images · Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite: Text, Images, PDFs, Audio, Video
  • Self-hostingGemma 3 12B ITPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemma 3 12B ITGemini 2.5 Flash-Lite
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%4558
Price25%10086
Inputs & features15%50100
Context window10%2461
Overall100%57/10071/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Gemma 3 12B IT vs Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite specifications side by side
SpecificationGemma 3 12B ITGoogleGemini 2.5 Flash-LiteGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)123.5133.9 (best)
ECI rank#138 of 148#118 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions39.5%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics16.7%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.05 (best)$0.10
Output$0.15 (best)$0.40
Cached input—$0.01
Blended (3:1)$0.075 (best)$0.175
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 7 providersOfficial Google API
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens1,048,576 tokens (best)
Max output131,072 tokens (best)65,536 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoYes
AudioNoYes
VideoNoYes
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model ID—gemini-2.5-flash-lite
API providers720 (best)
ReleasedMar 12, 2025Jun 17, 2025
Knowledge cutoffAug 2024Jan 2025
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 3 12B IT$0.80
  • Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite$1.80
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemma 3 12B IT or Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Gemma 3 12B IT (57). It leads on capability, inputs & features and context window. Gemma 3 12B IT wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 12B IT or Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemma 3 12B IT is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (median across 7 API providers). Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite costs $0.10 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Google API price). 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 $0.175 for Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite (2.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite 133.9 (#118 of 148) and Gemma 3 12B IT 123.5 (#138 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (129.8–136.3 vs 115.6–129.3), so the gap is a real one.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 3 12B IT and Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 131,072 for Gemma 3 12B IT. Maximum output per response: Gemma 3 12B IT up to 131,072, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemma 3 12B IT accepts text and images; Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite accepts text, images, PDFs, audio and video. Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Gemma 3 12B IT publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite is the newest, released Jun 17, 2025. Gemma 3 12B IT came out Mar 12, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Gemma 3 12B IT Aug 2024, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite Jan 2025.

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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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