GPT-4.1 nano vs Gemma 3 27B IT
Too close to call on our weighted score (GPT-4.1 nano 63, Gemma 3 27B IT 60). The right pick depends on what you value most.
OpenAI
GPT-4.1 nano
63/100- ECI129.6
- Price$0.10 / $0.40
- Context1.05M
Google
Gemma 3 27B IT
60/100- ECI130.0
- Price$0.08 / $0.20
- Context131K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (GPT-4.1 nano 63/100, Gemma 3 27B IT 60/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Gemma 3 27B IT for raw capability and GPT-4.1 nano for long inputs. 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 · GPT-4.1 nano 129.6
- Lowest priceGemma 3 27B ITGemma 3 27B IT $0.11 · GPT-4.1 nano $0.175 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextGPT-4.1 nanoGPT-4.1 nano 1,047,576 · Gemma 3 27B IT 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsGPT-4.1 nano: Text, Images · Gemma 3 27B IT: Text, Images
- Self-hostingGemma 3 27B ITPublishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | GPT-4.1 nano | Gemma 3 27B IT |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 52 | 53 |
| Price | 25% | 86 | 95 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 60 | 50 |
| Context window | 10% | 61 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 63/100 | 60/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 129.6 | 130.0 (best) |
| ECI rank | #127 of 148 | #125 of 148 (best) |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 48.9% (best) | 47.7% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 28.9% (best) | 22.5% |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | 6.0% | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.10 | $0.08 (best) |
| Output | $0.40 | $0.20 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.025 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.175 | $0.11 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official OpenAI API | Median of 9 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,047,576 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens |
| 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 | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | Open |
| API model ID | gpt-4.1-nano | — |
| API providers | 20 (best) | 10 |
| Released | Apr 14, 2025 | Mar 12, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2024 | Aug 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
GPT-4.1 nano$1.80
Gemma 3 27B IT$1.20
Which should you choose?
Which is better: GPT-4.1 nano or Gemma 3 27B IT?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (GPT-4.1 nano 63/100, Gemma 3 27B IT 60/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Gemma 3 27B IT for raw capability and GPT-4.1 nano for long inputs. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 nano or Gemma 3 27B IT?
Gemma 3 27B IT is cheaper at $0.08 input / $0.20 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers). GPT-4.1 nano costs $0.10 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.11 per million tokens for Gemma 3 27B IT versus $0.175 for GPT-4.1 nano (1.6× 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 GPT-4.1 nano 129.6 (#127 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (124.1–132.2 vs 123.2–132.0), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — GPT-4.1 nano 48.9%, Gemma 3 27B IT 47.7%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — GPT-4.1 nano 28.9%, Gemma 3 27B IT 22.5%.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-4.1 nano and Gemma 3 27B 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?
GPT-4.1 nano has the largest context window at 1,047,576 tokens, against 131,072 for Gemma 3 27B IT. Maximum output per response: GPT-4.1 nano up to 32,768, Gemma 3 27B IT up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
GPT-4.1 nano accepts text and images; Gemma 3 27B IT accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Gemma 3 27B IT publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-4.1 nano is proprietary.
Which is newer?
GPT-4.1 nano is the newest, released Apr 14, 2025. Gemma 3 27B IT came out Mar 12, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-4.1 nano Apr 2024, Gemma 3 27B 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.