ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemma 3 27B IT vs Gemma 3 12B IT

Too close to call on our weighted score (Gemma 3 27B IT 60, Gemma 3 12B IT 57). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. Google

    Gemma 3 27B IT

    Released Mar 12, 2025

    60/100
    • ECI130.0
    • Price$0.08 / $0.20
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 3 27B IT

  2. 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

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Gemma 3 27B IT 60/100, Gemma 3 12B IT 57/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Gemma 3 27B IT for raw capability and Gemma 3 12B IT on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityGemma 3 27B ITCapabilities Index (ECI): Gemma 3 27B IT 130.0 · Gemma 3 12B IT 123.5
  • Lowest priceGemma 3 12B ITGemma 3 12B IT $0.075 · Gemma 3 27B IT $0.11 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameGemma 3 27B IT 131,072 · Gemma 3 12B IT 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsGemma 3 27B IT: Text, Images · 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 3 27B ITGemma 3 12B IT
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%5345
Price25%95100
Inputs & features15%5050
Context window10%2424
Overall100%60/10057/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Gemma 3 27B IT vs Gemma 3 12B IT specifications side by side
SpecificationGemma 3 27B ITGoogleGemma 3 12B ITGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)130.0 (best)123.5
ECI rank#125 of 148 (best)#138 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions47.7% (best)39.5%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics22.5% (best)16.7%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.08$0.05 (best)
Output$0.20$0.15 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.11$0.075 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 9 providersMedian of 7 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID——
API providers10 (best)7
ReleasedMar 12, 2025Mar 12, 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 27B IT$1.20
  • Gemma 3 12B IT$0.80
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

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

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Gemma 3 27B IT 60/100, Gemma 3 12B IT 57/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Gemma 3 27B IT for raw capability and Gemma 3 12B IT on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

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

Gemma 3 12B IT is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (median across 7 API providers). Gemma 3 27B IT costs $0.08 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 9 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 $0.11 for Gemma 3 27B IT (1.5× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

Gemma 3 27B IT scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemma 3 27B IT 130.0 (#125 of 148) and Gemma 3 12B IT 123.5 (#138 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (124.1–132.2 vs 115.6–129.3), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemma 3 27B IT 47.7%, Gemma 3 12B IT 39.5%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Gemma 3 27B IT 22.5%, Gemma 3 12B IT 16.7%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 3 27B IT and Gemma 3 12B IT yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Gemma 3 27B IT 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?

Gemma 3 27B IT and Gemma 3 12B IT share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Gemma 3 27B IT up to 131,072, Gemma 3 12B IT up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemma 3 27B IT accepts text and images; Gemma 3 12B IT 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?

Gemma 3 27B IT is the newest, released Mar 12, 2025. Gemma 3 12B IT came out Mar 12, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Gemma 3 27B IT Aug 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

Related comparisons