Gemma 4 12B IT vs Gemma 4 26B A4B IT
Gemma 4 12B IT comes out ahead, 75 to 71 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
GoogleGemma 4 12B IT
75/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.275
- Context262K
- Google
Gemma 4 26B A4B IT
71/100- ECI141.9
- Price$0.10 / $0.38
- Context262K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Gemma 4 12B IT is our pick
Gemma 4 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Gemma 4 26B A4B IT (71). It leads on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. 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 priceGemma 4 12B ITGemma 4 12B IT $0.125 · Gemma 4 26B A4B IT $0.17 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameGemma 4 12B IT 262,144 · Gemma 4 26B A4B IT 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsGemma 4 12B IT: Text, Images · Gemma 4 26B A4B IT: Text, Images
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Gemma 4 12B IT | Gemma 4 26B A4B IT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 93 | 86 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 75/100 | 71/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Gemma 4 12B ITGoogle | Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | 141.9 |
| ECI rank | — | #93 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | — | 73.2% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | — | 82.2% |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.075 (best) | $0.10 |
| Output | $0.275 (best) | $0.38 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.125 (best) | $0.17 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 2 providers | Median of 23 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 32,768 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | — | gemma-4-26b-a4b-it |
| API providers | 2 | 26 (best) |
| Released | Jun 9, 2026 | Apr 2, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Gemma 4 12B IT$1.30
- Gemma 4 26B A4B IT$1.76
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemma 4 12B IT or Gemma 4 26B A4B IT?
Gemma 4 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Gemma 4 26B A4B IT (71). It leads on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 4 12B IT or Gemma 4 26B A4B IT?
Gemma 4 12B IT is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.275 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). Gemma 4 26B A4B IT costs $0.10 input / $0.38 output per million tokens (median across 23 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.125 per million tokens for Gemma 4 12B IT versus $0.17 for Gemma 4 26B A4B IT (1.4× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Gemma 4 12B IT has not been scored yet and Gemma 4 26B A4B IT has an ECI of 141.9.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 4 12B IT and Gemma 4 26B A4B IT yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Gemma 4 12B IT and Gemma 4 26B A4B IT share the same 262,144-token context window. Maximum output per response: Gemma 4 12B IT up to 32,768, Gemma 4 26B A4B IT up to 32,768 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemma 4 12B IT accepts text and images; Gemma 4 26B A4B 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 4 12B IT is the newest, released Jun 9, 2026. Gemma 4 26B A4B IT came out Apr 2, 2026.
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.
Related comparisons
- Add Laguna S 2.1Three-way comparison
- Gemma 4 12B IT vs Laguna S 2.1Poolside
- Gemma 4 12B IT vs Seed CharacterByteDance Seed
- Gemma 4 12B IT vs Ling 3.0 Flash FininclusionAI
- Gemma 4 12B IT vs Step 3.5 Flash 2603StepFun
- Gemma 4 26B A4B IT vs Qwen3.5 FlashAlibaba (Qwen) · ECI 144.0
- Gemma 4 26B A4B IT vs DeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek · ECI 146.1
