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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemma 3 12B IT vs Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct

Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct comes out ahead, 62 to 57 on our weighted score, though Gemma 3 12B IT is 4.6× 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

    Meta

    Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct

    Released Apr 5, 2025

    62/100
    • ECI129.7
    • Price$0.225 / $0.69
    • Context10M
    Full specs Remove Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct is our pick

Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 62/100 against Gemma 3 12B IT (57). It leads on capability and context window. Gemma 3 12B IT wins on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityLlama 4 Scout 17B InstructCapabilities Index (ECI): Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct 129.7 · Gemma 3 12B IT 123.5
  • Lowest priceGemma 3 12B ITGemma 3 12B IT $0.075 · Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct $0.341 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextLlama 4 Scout 17B InstructLlama 4 Scout 17B Instruct 10,000,000 · Gemma 3 12B IT 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsGemma 3 12B IT: Text, Images · Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemma 3 12B ITLlama 4 Scout 17B Instruct
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%4552
Price25%10072
Inputs & features15%5050
Context window10%24100
Overall100%57/10062/100
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 Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct specifications side by side
SpecificationGemma 3 12B ITGoogleLlama 4 Scout 17B InstructMeta
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)123.5129.7 (best)
ECI rank#138 of 148#126 of 148 (best)
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions39.5%51.8% (best)
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics16.7% (best)7.8%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.05 (best)$0.225
Output$0.15 (best)$0.69
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.075 (best)$0.341
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 7 providersMedian of 4 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens10,000,000 tokens (best)
Max output131,072 tokens (best)16,384 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID——
API providers7 (best)4
ReleasedMar 12, 2025Apr 5, 2025
Knowledge cutoffAug 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 3 12B IT$0.80
  • Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct$3.63
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemma 3 12B IT or Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct?

Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 62/100 against Gemma 3 12B IT (57). It leads on capability 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 Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct?

Gemma 3 12B IT is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (median across 7 API providers). Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct costs $0.225 input / $0.69 output per million tokens (median across 4 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 $0.341 for Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct (4.6× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct 129.7 (#126 of 148) and Gemma 3 12B IT 123.5 (#138 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (124.8–131.4 vs 115.6–129.3), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct 51.8%, Gemma 3 12B IT 39.5%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Gemma 3 12B IT 16.7%, Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct 7.8%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 3 12B IT and Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct 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?

Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct has the largest context window at 10,000,000 tokens, against 131,072 for Gemma 3 12B IT. Maximum output per response: Gemma 3 12B IT up to 131,072, Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct up to 16,384 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemma 3 12B IT accepts text and images; Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

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

Which is newer?

Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct is the newest, released Apr 5, 2025. Gemma 3 12B IT came out Mar 12, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Gemma 3 12B IT Aug 2024, Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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