Model Comparison

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs Gemma 4 12BWhich is better in 2026?

Gemma 4 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs Gemma 4 12B — which is better?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite (by Google) and Gemma 4 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.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Gemma 4 12B is better at 1 benchmark (MRCR v2 (8-needle)). Gemma 4 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Gemma 4 12B if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Gemma 4 12B is better at 1 benchmark (MRCR v2 (8-needle)).

Gemma 4 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jul 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite specifies input context (1,048,576 tokens). Only Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite specifies output context (65,536 tokens).

Google
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Google
Gemma 4 12B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sat Jul 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Gemma 4 12B support multimodal inputs.

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

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemma 4 12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite 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.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Proprietary

Closed source

Gemma 4 12B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite was released on 2026-07-21, while Gemma 4 12B was released on 2026-05-23.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is 2 months newer than Gemma 4 12B.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Jul 21, 2026

4 days ago

1mo newer
Gemma 4 12B

May 23, 2026

2 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite has a knowledge cutoff of 2026-03-31, while Gemma 4 12B has a cutoff of 2025-01-01.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite has more recent training data (up to 2026-03-31), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Gemma 4 12B (2025-01-01).

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite

Mar 2026

1.2 yr newer
Gemma 4 12B

Jan 2025

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Google
Has open weights
Higher MRCR v2 (8-needle) score (43.4% vs 21.3%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Gemma 4 12B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
✓ Preferred
Gemma 4 12B
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Google
Gemma 4 12B

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs Gemma 4 12B.

Which is better, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or Gemma 4 12B?

Gemma 4 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is made by Google and Gemma 4 12B is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite compare to Gemma 4 12B in benchmarks?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite scores CharXiv-R: 76.5%, OSWorld-Verified: 74.0%, SWE-Bench Pro: 54.2%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 54.0%, MLE-Bench: 39.2%. Gemma 4 12B scores FLEURS: 93.1%, MMMLU: 83.4%, MathVision: 79.7%, GPQA: 78.8%, AIME 2026: 77.5%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Gemma 4 12B?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite supports 1.0M tokens and Gemma 4 12B supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and Gemma 4 12B?

Key differences include licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

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