Model Comparison

Gemma 2 27B vs Gemma 3 4B

Gemma 3 4B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

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

Gemma 3 4B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri May 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

23.2B diff

Gemma 2 27B has 23.2B more parameters than Gemma 3 4B, making it 580.0% larger.

Google
Gemma 2 27B
27.2Bparameters
Google
Gemma 3 4B
4.0Bparameters
27.2B
Gemma 2 27B
4.0B
Gemma 3 4B

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Gemma 3 4B specifies input context (131,072 tokens). Only Gemma 3 4B specifies output context (131,072 tokens).

Google
Gemma 2 27B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Google
Gemma 3 4B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Fri May 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemma 3 4B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Gemma 2 27B does not.

Gemma 3 4B 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 4B

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 4B

Gemma

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 2 27B was released on 2024-06-27, while Gemma 3 4B was released on 2025-03-12.

Gemma 3 4B is 9 months newer than Gemma 2 27B.

Gemma 2 27B

Jun 27, 2024

1.9 years ago

Gemma 3 4B

Mar 12, 2025

1.2 years ago

8mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemma 3 4B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-08-01, while Gemma 2 27B'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 Gemma 2 27B's cutoff date.

Gemma 2 27B

Gemma 3 4B

Aug 2024

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 (89.2% vs 74.0%)
Higher HumanEval score (71.3% vs 51.8%)
Higher MATH score (75.6% vs 42.3%)
Higher MBPP score (63.2% vs 62.6%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 2 27B
Google
Gemma 3 4B

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 2 27B vs Gemma 3 4B.

Which is better, Gemma 2 27B or Gemma 3 4B?

Gemma 3 4B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 2 27B is made by Google and Gemma 3 4B 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 4B in benchmarks?

Gemma 2 27B scores ARC-E: 88.6%, HellaSwag: 86.4%, BoolQ: 84.8%, TriviaQA: 83.7%, Winogrande: 83.7%. Gemma 3 4B scores IFEval: 90.2%, GSM8k: 89.2%, DocVQA: 75.8%, MATH: 75.6%, AI2D: 74.8%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 2 27B and Gemma 3 4B?

Gemma 2 27B supports an unknown number of tokens and Gemma 3 4B 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 4B?

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