Gemma 3 12B IT vs Gemma 3n E4B IT vs Qwen2.5 7B Instruct
Gemma 3 12B IT comes out ahead, 40 to 25 and 21 on our weighted score, though Qwen2.5 7B Instruct is 17% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
GoogleGemma 3 12B IT
40/100- ECI123.5
- Price$0.05 / $0.15
- Context131K
- Google
Gemma 3n E4B IT
21/100- ECI—
- Price—
- Context33K
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen2.5 7B Instruct
25/100- ECI118.5
- Price$0.05 / $0.10
- Context131K
Gemma 3 12B IT is our pick
Gemma 3 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 40/100 against Qwen2.5 7B Instruct (25) and Gemma 3n E4B IT (21). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceQwen2.5 7B InstructQwen2.5 7B Instruct $0.063 · Gemma 3 12B IT $0.075 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · Gemma 3n E4B IT unpriced
- Longest contextGemma 3 12B IT and Qwen2.5 7B InstructGemma 3 12B IT 131,072 · Qwen2.5 7B Instruct 131,072 · Gemma 3n E4B IT 32,768 tokens
- Widest inputsGemma 3n E4B ITGemma 3 12B IT: Text, Images · Gemma 3n E4B IT: Text, Images, Audio · Qwen2.5 7B Instruct: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Gemma 3 12B IT | Gemma 3n E4B IT | Qwen2.5 7B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inputs & features | 60% | 50 | 35 | 25 |
| Context window | 40% | 25 | 0 | 25 |
| Overall | 100% | 40/100 | 21/100 | 25/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Gemma 3 12B ITGoogle | Gemma 3n E4B ITGoogle | Qwen2.5 7B InstructAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 123.5 (best) | — | 118.5 |
| ECI rank | #151 of 165 (best) | — | #159 of 165 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 39.5% (best) | — | 35.5% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 16.7% (best) | — | 2.5% |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.05 | — | $0.05 |
| Output | $0.15 | — | $0.10 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.075 | — | $0.063 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | — | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 12 providers | — | Median of 3 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 32,768 tokens | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | Yes | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | No | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | OpenGemma Terms of Use | OpenApache 2.0 |
| API model ID | — | — | — |
| API providers | 13 (best) | — | 4 |
| Released | Mar 12, 2025 | Jun 26, 2025 | Sep 19, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Aug 2024 | Jun 2024 | — |
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
- Gemma 3n E4B IT—
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct$0.70
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemma 3 12B IT, Gemma 3n E4B IT or Qwen2.5 7B Instruct?
Gemma 3 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 40/100 against Qwen2.5 7B Instruct (25) and Gemma 3n E4B IT (21). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 12B IT, Gemma 3n E4B IT or Qwen2.5 7B Instruct?
Qwen2.5 7B Instruct is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.10 output per million tokens (median across 3 API providers). Gemma 3 12B IT costs $0.05 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (median across 12 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.063 per million tokens for Qwen2.5 7B Instruct versus $0.075 for Gemma 3 12B IT (1.2× as much). Gemma 3n E4B IT has no published per-token price.
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Gemma 3 12B IT has an ECI of 123.5, Gemma 3n E4B IT has not been scored yet and Qwen2.5 7B Instruct has an ECI of 118.5.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 3 12B IT, Gemma 3n E4B IT and Qwen2.5 7B Instruct yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Gemma 3n E4B IT does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemma 3 12B IT and Qwen2.5 7B Instruct have the largest context windows (131,072 and 131,072 tokens), against 32,768 for Gemma 3n E4B IT. Maximum output per response: Gemma 3 12B IT up to 131,072, Gemma 3n E4B IT up to 32,768, Qwen2.5 7B Instruct up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemma 3 12B IT accepts text and images; Gemma 3n E4B IT accepts text, images and audio; Qwen2.5 7B Instruct accepts text. Gemma 3n E4B IT handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, all three publish their weights (Gemma Terms of Use and Apache 2.0), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Gemma 3n E4B IT is the newest, released Jun 26, 2025. Gemma 3 12B IT came out Mar 12, 2025; Qwen2.5 7B Instruct came out Sep 19, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Gemma 3 12B IT Aug 2024, Gemma 3n E4B IT Jun 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.
