Model Comparison
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Gemma 3 4BWhich is better in 2026?
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 4B is 7.0x cheaper per token.
Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Gemma 3 4B — which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B (by DeepSeek) and Gemma 3 4B (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.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench), while Gemma 3 4B is better at 0 benchmarks. DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Gemma 3 4B is roughly 7.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Gemma 3 4B also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
Choose Gemma 3 4B if…
- cost matters — it's about 7.0x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench), while Gemma 3 4B is better at 0 benchmarks.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B ($0.10/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Gemma 3 4B ($0.02/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B ($0.40/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than Gemma 3 4B ($0.04/1M tokens).
In conclusion, DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is more expensive than Gemma 3 4B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B has 66.6B more parameters than Gemma 3 4B, making it 1665.0% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Gemma 3 4B accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B's 128,000 tokens. Gemma 3 4B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Gemma 3 4B supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B does not.
Gemma 3 4B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B
Gemma 3 4B
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is licensed under MIT, while Gemma 3 4B uses Gemma.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Gemma
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B was released on 2025-01-20, while Gemma 3 4B was released on 2025-03-12.
Gemma 3 4B is 2 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B.
Jan 20, 2025
1.4 years ago
Mar 12, 2025
1.3 years ago
1mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemma 3 4B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-08-01, while DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemma 3 4B's training data extends to 2024-08-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B's cutoff date.
—
Aug 2024
Provider Availability
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B is available from DeepInfra. Gemma 3 4B is available from DeepInfra.
DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B
Gemma 3 4B
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Gemma 3 4B
View detailsDetailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Llama 70B vs Gemma 3 4B.