Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Gemma 3 12B

Claude Sonnet 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B is 96.0x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 4.6 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Gemma 3 12B is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Apr 18 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 Sonnet 4.6 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 60.0x more expensive than Gemma 3 12B ($0.05/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 150.0x more expensive than Gemma 3 12B ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is more expensive than Gemma 3 12B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
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 Sonnet 4.6 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 Sonnet 4.6 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Input200,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Sat Apr 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Gemma 3 12B support multimodal inputs.

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

Claude Sonnet 4.6

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemma 3 12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Sonnet 4.6 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 Sonnet 4.6

Proprietary

Closed source

Gemma 3 12B

Gemma

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 4.6 was released on 2026-02-17, while Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 11 months newer than Gemma 3 12B.

Claude Sonnet 4.6

Feb 17, 2026

2 months ago

11mo newer
Gemma 3 12B

Mar 12, 2025

1.1 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is available from Anthropic. Gemma 3 12B is available from DeepInfra.

Claude Sonnet 4.6

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

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 (89.9% vs 40.9%)
Google
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Google
Gemma 3 12B

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Gemma 3 12B

Claude Sonnet 4.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 4.6 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.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores Tau2 Telecom: 97.9%, Tau2 Retail: 91.7%, GPQA: 89.9%, MMMLU: 89.3%, SWE-Bench Verified: 79.6%. Gemma 3 12B scores GSM8k: 94.4%, IFEval: 88.9%, DocVQA: 87.1%, BIG-Bench Hard: 85.7%, HumanEval: 85.4%.
Gemma 3 12B is 60.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. Gemma 3 12B costs $0.05/M input and $0.10/M output via deepinfra.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 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.
Key differences include context window (200K vs 131K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.05/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Gemma). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is developed by Anthropic and Gemma 3 12B is developed by Google.