Model Comparison

Gemma 2 27B vs Gemma 3 12B

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

Gemma 2 27B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Gemma 3 12B is better at 4 benchmarks (GSM8k, HumanEval, MATH, MBPP).

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon May 11 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

15.2B diff

Gemma 2 27B has 15.2B more parameters than Gemma 3 12B, making it 126.7% larger.

Google
Gemma 2 27B
27.2Bparameters
Google
Gemma 3 12B
12.0Bparameters
27.2B
Gemma 2 27B
12.0B
Gemma 3 12B

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Gemma 3 12B specifies input context (131,072 tokens). Only Gemma 3 12B specifies output context (131,072 tokens).

Google
Gemma 2 27B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Mon May 11 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemma 3 12B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Gemma 2 27B does not.

Gemma 3 12B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemma 2 27B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemma 3 12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under Gemma.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

Gemma 2 27B

Gemma

Open weights

Gemma 3 12B

Gemma

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 2 27B was released on 2024-06-27, while Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12.

Gemma 3 12B is 9 months newer than Gemma 2 27B.

Gemma 2 27B

Jun 27, 2024

1.9 years ago

Gemma 3 12B

Mar 12, 2025

1.2 years ago

8mo newer

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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion

Key Takeaways

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GSM8k score (94.4% vs 74.0%)
Higher HumanEval score (85.4% vs 51.8%)
Higher MATH score (83.8% vs 42.3%)
Higher MBPP score (73.0% vs 62.6%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 2 27B
Google
Gemma 3 12B

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 2 27B vs Gemma 3 12B.

Which is better, Gemma 2 27B or Gemma 3 12B?

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 2 27B is made by Google 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 Gemma 2 27B compare to Gemma 3 12B in benchmarks?

Gemma 2 27B scores ARC-E: 88.6%, HellaSwag: 86.4%, BoolQ: 84.8%, TriviaQA: 83.7%, Winogrande: 83.7%. Gemma 3 12B scores GSM8k: 94.4%, IFEval: 88.9%, DocVQA: 87.1%, BIG-Bench Hard: 85.7%, HumanEval: 85.4%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 2 27B and Gemma 3 12B?

Gemma 2 27B supports an unknown number of 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 Gemma 2 27B and Gemma 3 12B?

Key differences include multimodal support (no vs yes). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.