Gemma 2 9B vs Pixtral-12B
Gemma 2 9B and Pixtral-12B are closely matched at -4.9 and -1.6 on the LLM Stats Score.
Google · Mistral AI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemma 2 9B and Pixtral-12B are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at -4.9 and -1.6.
In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Pixtral-12B 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 Pixtral-12B
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 3 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 · 12 for Pixtral-12B
Gemma 2 9B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMLU), while Pixtral-12B is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MATH).
Pixtral-12B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Pixtral-12B has 3.2B more parameters than Gemma 2 9B, making it 34.2% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Pixtral-12B specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Pixtral-12B specifies output context (8,192 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Pixtral-12B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Gemma 2 9B does not.
Pixtral-12B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Gemma 2 9B
Pixtral-12B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 2 9B is licensed under Gemma, while Pixtral-12B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Gemma
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 2 9B was released on 2024-06-27, while Pixtral-12B was released on 2024-09-17.
Pixtral-12B is 3 months newer than Gemma 2 9B.
Jun 27, 2024
2.3 years ago
Sep 17, 2024
2.0 years ago
2mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 2 9B and Pixtral-12B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 2 9B vs Pixtral-12B.