Gemma 3 27B IT vs Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct
Gemma 3 27B IT comes out ahead, 57 to 45 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
GoogleGemma 3 27B IT
57/100- ECI129.9
- Price$0.11 / $0.30
- Context131K
MetaLlama-3.3-70B-Instruct
45/100- ECI127.3
- Price$0.59 / $0.753
- Context128K
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Gemma 3 27B IT is our pick
Gemma 3 27B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct (45). It leads on capability, price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityGemma 3 27B ITCapabilities Index (ECI): Gemma 3 27B IT 129.9 · Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct 127.3
- Lowest priceGemma 3 27B ITGemma 3 27B IT $0.157 · Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct $0.631 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGemma 3 27B ITGemma 3 27B IT 131,072 · Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct 128,000 tokens
- Widest inputsGemma 3 27B ITGemma 3 27B IT: Text, Images · Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Gemma 3 27B IT | Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 52 | 49 |
| Price | 25% | 84 | 57 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 50 | 25 |
| Context window | 10% | 25 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 57/100 | 45/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Gemma 3 27B ITGoogle | Llama-3.3-70B-InstructMeta |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 129.9 (best) | 127.3 |
| ECI rank | #137 of 165 (best) | #146 of 165 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 47.7% (best) | 47.4% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 22.5% (best) | 5.1% |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.11 (best) | $0.59 |
| Output | $0.30 (best) | $0.753 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.157 (best) | $0.631 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 16 providers | Median of 37 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens (best) | 128,000 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 4,096 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 17 | 40 (best) |
| Released | Mar 12, 2025 | Dec 6, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Aug 2024 | Dec 2023 |
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$1.69
- Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct$7.41
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemma 3 27B IT or Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct?
Gemma 3 27B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct (45). It leads on capability, price and inputs & features. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 27B IT or Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct?
Gemma 3 27B IT is cheaper at $0.11 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (median across 16 API providers). Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct costs $0.59 input / $0.753 output per million tokens (median across 37 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.157 per million tokens for Gemma 3 27B IT versus $0.631 for Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct (4× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
Gemma 3 27B IT scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Gemma 3 27B IT 129.9 (#137 of 165) and Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct 127.3 (#146 of 165). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (124.2–132.1 vs 122.7–129.3), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Gemma 3 27B IT 47.7%, Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct 47.4%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Gemma 3 27B IT 22.5%, Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct 5.1%.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 3 27B IT and Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct 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 has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 128,000 for Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct. Maximum output per response: Gemma 3 27B IT up to 131,072, Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct up to 4,096 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemma 3 27B IT accepts text and images; Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct accepts text. Gemma 3 27B 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 27B IT is the newest, released Mar 12, 2025. Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct came out Dec 6, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Gemma 3 27B IT Aug 2024, Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct Dec 2023.
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.
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