Model Comparison

Claude Opus 4.5 vs Gemma 3 12BWhich is better in 2026?

Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B is 160.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Opus 4.5 vs Gemma 3 12B — which is better?

Claude Opus 4.5 (by Anthropic) and Gemma 3 12B (by Google) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Gemma 3 12B is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Gemma 3 12B is roughly 160.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Opus 4.5 also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Opus 4.5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • cost matters — it's about 160.0x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Claude Opus 4.5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Gemma 3 12B is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Gemma 3 12B costs less

For input processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 100.0x more expensive than Gemma 3 12B ($0.05/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Opus 4.5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 250.0x more expensive than Gemma 3 12B ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Opus 4.5 is more expensive than Gemma 3 12B.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Input tokens$5.00
Output tokens$25.00
Best providerAnthropic
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Input tokens$0.05
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Opus 4.5 accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to Gemma 3 12B's 131,072 tokens. Gemma 3 12B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Opus 4.5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Opus 4.5 and Gemma 3 12B support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Claude Opus 4.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemma 3 12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Opus 4.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Gemma 3 12B uses Gemma.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Claude Opus 4.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Gemma 3 12B

Gemma

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Opus 4.5 was released on 2025-11-24, while Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12.

Claude Opus 4.5 is 9 months newer than Gemma 3 12B.

Claude Opus 4.5

Nov 24, 2025

6 months ago

8mo newer
Gemma 3 12B

Mar 12, 2025

1.2 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Claude Opus 4.5 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-31, while Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Claude Opus 4.5's training data extends to 2025-03-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date.

Claude Opus 4.5

Mar 2025

Gemma 3 12B

—

Provider Availability

Claude Opus 4.5 is available from Anthropic. Gemma 3 12B is available from DeepInfra.

Claude Opus 4.5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $25.00/1M

Gemma 3 12B

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (200,000 tokens)
Higher GPQA score (87.0% vs 40.9%)
Google
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Opus 4.5
Google
Gemma 3 12B

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Opus 4.5 vs Gemma 3 12B.

Which is better, Claude Opus 4.5 or Gemma 3 12B?

Claude Opus 4.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Opus 4.5 is made by Anthropic and Gemma 3 12B is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Opus 4.5 compare to Gemma 3 12B in benchmarks?

Claude Opus 4.5 scores Tau2 Telecom: 98.2%, MMMLU: 90.8%, Tau2 Retail: 88.9%, GPQA: 87.0%, SWE-Bench Verified: 80.9%. Gemma 3 12B scores GSM8k: 94.4%, IFEval: 88.9%, DocVQA: 87.1%, BIG-Bench Hard: 85.7%, HumanEval: 85.4%.

Is Claude Opus 4.5 cheaper than Gemma 3 12B?

Gemma 3 12B is 100.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Opus 4.5 costs $5.00/M input and $25.00/M output via anthropic. Gemma 3 12B costs $0.05/M input and $0.10/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Opus 4.5 and Gemma 3 12B?

Claude Opus 4.5 supports 200K tokens and Gemma 3 12B supports 131K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Opus 4.5 and Gemma 3 12B?

Key differences include context window (200K vs 131K), input pricing ($5.00 vs $0.05/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Gemma). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Opus 4.5 and Gemma 3 12B?

Claude Opus 4.5 is developed by Anthropic and Gemma 3 12B is developed by Google.

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