Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Gemma 4 12B
Gemma 4 12B leads the LLM Stats Score 22.0 to 15.9.
Anthropic · Google · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemma 4 12B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 22.0 to 15.9, ranking #179 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Gemma 4 12B wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude 3.5 Sonnet
- you want predictable pricing at $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output
Choose Gemma 4 12B
- overall performance matters — it scores 22.0 and ranks #179 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped May 2026
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
9 reported for Claude 3.5 Sonnet · 15 for Gemma 4 12B
Claude 3.5 Sonnet outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Gemma 4 12B is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro).
Gemma 4 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Claude 3.5 Sonnet specifies input context (200,000 tokens). Only Claude 3.5 Sonnet specifies output context (200,000 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Gemma 4 12B support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
Gemma 4 12B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude 3.5 Sonnet is licensed under a proprietary license, while Gemma 4 12B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude 3.5 Sonnet was released on 2024-06-21, while Gemma 4 12B was released on 2026-05-23.
Gemma 4 12B is 23 months newer than Claude 3.5 Sonnet.
Jun 21, 2024
2.2 years ago
May 23, 2026
3 months ago
1.9yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemma 4 12B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-01, while Claude 3.5 Sonnet's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemma 4 12B's training data extends to 2025-01-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Claude 3.5 Sonnet's cutoff date.
—
Jan 2025
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Gemma 4 12B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude 3.5 Sonnet vs Gemma 4 12B.