Gemma 2 9B vs Llama 3.2 11B Instruct
Gemma 2 9B and Llama 3.2 11B Instruct are closely matched at -4.8 and -1.2 on the LLM Stats Score.
Google · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemma 2 9B and Llama 3.2 11B Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at -4.8 and -1.2.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Llama 3.2 11B Instruct wins 2; 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 Llama 3.2 11B Instruct
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2024
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
16 reported for Gemma 2 9B · 11 for Llama 3.2 11B Instruct
Gemma 2 9B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Llama 3.2 11B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (MATH, MMLU).
Llama 3.2 11B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Llama 3.2 11B Instruct has 1.4B more parameters than Gemma 2 9B, making it 14.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Llama 3.2 11B Instruct specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Llama 3.2 11B Instruct specifies output context (128,000 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Llama 3.2 11B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas Gemma 2 9B does not.
Llama 3.2 11B Instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Gemma 2 9B
Llama 3.2 11B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 2 9B is licensed under Gemma, while Llama 3.2 11B Instruct uses Llama 3.2 Community License.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Gemma
Open weights
Llama 3.2 Community License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 2 9B was released on 2024-06-27, while Llama 3.2 11B Instruct was released on 2024-09-25.
Llama 3.2 11B Instruct is 3 months newer than Gemma 2 9B.
Jun 27, 2024
2.2 years ago
Sep 25, 2024
1.9 years ago
3mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Llama 3.2 11B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while Gemma 2 9B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Llama 3.2 11B Instruct's training data extends to 2023-12-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 2 9B's cutoff date.
—
Dec 2023
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 2 9B and Llama 3.2 11B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 2 9B vs Llama 3.2 11B Instruct.