Gemma 4 12B IT vs Qwen 3.8 Max Prime
Gemma 4 12B IT comes out ahead, 75 to 42 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
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen 3.8 Max Prime
42/100- ECI—
- Price$4.00 / $12.00
- Context1M
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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 Qwen 3.8 Max Prime (42). It leads on price. Qwen 3.8 Max Prime wins on inputs & features and context window. 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 · Qwen 3.8 Max Prime $6.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen 3.8 Max PrimeQwen 3.8 Max Prime 1,000,000 · Gemma 4 12B IT 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsQwen 3.8 Max PrimeGemma 4 12B IT: Text, Images · Qwen 3.8 Max Prime: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingGemma 4 12B ITPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Gemma 4 12B IT | Qwen 3.8 Max Prime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 93 | 13 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 70 | 80 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 75/100 | 42/100 |
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 | Qwen 3.8 Max PrimeAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.075 (best) | $4.00 |
| Output | $0.275 (best) | $12.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.125 (best) | $6.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 2 providers | Median of 4 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | Yes |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 2 | 4 (best) |
| Released | Jun 9, 2026 | Sep 23, 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
- Qwen 3.8 Max Prime$64.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemma 4 12B IT or Qwen 3.8 Max Prime?
Gemma 4 12B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 75/100 against Qwen 3.8 Max Prime (42). It leads on price. Qwen 3.8 Max Prime wins on inputs & features and context window. 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 Qwen 3.8 Max Prime?
Gemma 4 12B IT is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.275 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). Qwen 3.8 Max Prime costs $4.00 input / $12.00 output per million tokens (median across 4 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 $6.00 for Qwen 3.8 Max Prime (48× 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 Qwen 3.8 Max Prime has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 4 12B IT and Qwen 3.8 Max Prime 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?
Qwen 3.8 Max Prime has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Gemma 4 12B IT. Maximum output per response: Gemma 4 12B IT up to 32,768, Qwen 3.8 Max Prime up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemma 4 12B IT accepts text and images; Qwen 3.8 Max Prime accepts text, images and video. Qwen 3.8 Max Prime handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Gemma 4 12B IT publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen 3.8 Max Prime is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen 3.8 Max Prime is the newest, released Sep 23, 2026. Gemma 4 12B IT came out Jun 9, 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.
