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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Gemma 4 12B IT vs Gemma 4 31B IT

Gemma 4 12B IT comes out ahead, 75 to 70 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Google

    Gemma 4 12B IT

    Released Jun 9, 2026

    75/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.075 / $0.275
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 4 12B IT

  2. Google

    Gemma 4 31B IT

    Released Apr 2, 2026

    70/100
    • ECI142.8
    • Price$0.14 / $0.40
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 4 31B IT

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01 — Verdict

Gemma 4 12B IT is our pick

Gemma 4 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Gemma 4 31B IT (70). 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 31B IT $0.205 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameGemma 4 12B IT 262,144 · Gemma 4 31B IT 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsGemma 4 12B IT: Text, Images · Gemma 4 31B IT: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightGemma 4 12B ITGemma 4 31B IT
Price50%9383
Inputs & features30%7070
Context window20%3737
Overall100%75/10070/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Gemma 4 12B IT vs Gemma 4 31B IT specifications side by side
SpecificationGemma 4 12B ITGoogleGemma 4 31B ITGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—142.8
ECI rank—#86 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—75.8%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics—73.3%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions—10.4%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.075 (best)$0.14
Output$0.275 (best)$0.40
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.125 (best)$0.205
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 2 providersMedian of 30 providers
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens262,144 tokens
Max output32,768 tokens32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesYes
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID—gemma-4-31b-it
API providers238 (best)
ReleasedJun 9, 2026Apr 2, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
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 4 12B IT$1.30
  • Gemma 4 31B IT$2.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Gemma 4 12B IT or Gemma 4 31B IT?

Gemma 4 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Gemma 4 31B IT (70). 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 31B IT?

Gemma 4 12B IT is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.275 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). Gemma 4 31B IT costs $0.14 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (median across 30 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 $0.205 for Gemma 4 31B IT (1.6× 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 31B IT has an ECI of 142.8.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 4 12B IT and Gemma 4 31B 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 31B IT share the same 262,144-token context window. Maximum output per response: Gemma 4 12B IT up to 32,768, Gemma 4 31B IT up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Gemma 4 12B IT accepts text and images; Gemma 4 31B 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 31B 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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