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Gemma 2 9B vs Gemma 3 12B

Gemma 3 12B leads the LLM Stats Score 5.6 to -4.9.

Google · Google · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Gemma 3 12B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 5.6 to -4.9, ranking #294 overall.

In the 4 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Gemma 3 12B wins 4; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose Gemma 2 9B

  • you are already invested in the Google ecosystem

Choose Gemma 3 12B

  • overall performance matters — it scores 5.6 and ranks #294 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 4 of 4 exact shared results
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Gemma 2 9B
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Google
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
-4.9
#353
5.6
#294
Reasoning
-5.2
#346
5.9
#288
Coding
-11.0
#264
2.8
#221
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
0 of 4
4 of 4
Input price
— / M
$0.05 / M
Output price
— / M
$0.15 / M
Context window
—
131,072

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

1 shared
Index
Gemma 2 9B
Gemma 3 12B
Math
-3.8#314
12.9#229
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

16 reported for Gemma 2 9B · 26 for Gemma 3 12B

4 shared

Gemma 2 9B 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 Sep 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

2.8B diff

Gemma 3 12B has 2.8B more parameters than Gemma 2 9B, making it 29.9% larger.

Google
Gemma 2 9B
9.2Bparameters
Google
Gemma 3 12B
12.0Bparameters
9.2B
Gemma 2 9B
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 9B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Mon Sep 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Gemma 3 12B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Gemma 2 9B does not.

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

Gemma 2 9B

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 9B

Gemma

Open weights

Gemma 3 12B

Gemma

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 2 9B 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 9B.

Gemma 2 9B

Jun 27, 2024

2.2 years ago

Gemma 3 12B

Mar 12, 2025

1.5 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→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 2 9B and Gemma 3 12B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 2 9B
✓ Preferred
Gemma 3 12B
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 2 9B vs Gemma 3 12B.

Which is better, Gemma 2 9B or Gemma 3 12B?

Gemma 3 12B leads the LLM Stats Score 5.6 to -4.9. Gemma 2 9B is made by Google and Gemma 3 12B is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does Gemma 2 9B compare to Gemma 3 12B in benchmarks?

Gemma 2 9B scores ARC-E: 88.0%, BoolQ: 84.2%, HellaSwag: 81.9%, PIQA: 81.7%, Winogrande: 80.6%. 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 9B and Gemma 3 12B?

Gemma 2 9B 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 9B and Gemma 3 12B?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (-4.9 vs 5.6), multimodal support (no vs yes). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

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