Model Comparison

Gemma 3 12B vs Gemma 3 1BWhich is better in 2026?

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Gemma 3 1B — which is better?

Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Gemma 3 1B (by Google) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 18 benchmarks (BIG-Bench Extra Hard, BIG-Bench Hard, Bird-SQL (dev), ECLeKTic, FACTS Grounding, Global-MMLU-Lite, GPQA, GSM8k, HiddenMath, HumanEval, IFEval, LiveCodeBench, MATH, MBPP, MMLU-Pro, Natural2Code, SimpleQA, WMT24++), while Gemma 3 1B is better at 0 benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 18 of 18 shared benchmarks

Choose Gemma 3 1B if…

  • you are already invested in the Google ecosystem

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

18 benchmarks

Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 18 benchmarks (BIG-Bench Extra Hard, BIG-Bench Hard, Bird-SQL (dev), ECLeKTic, FACTS Grounding, Global-MMLU-Lite, GPQA, GSM8k, HiddenMath, HumanEval, IFEval, LiveCodeBench, MATH, MBPP, MMLU-Pro, Natural2Code, SimpleQA, WMT24++), while Gemma 3 1B is better at 0 benchmarks.

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Jul 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

11.0B diff

Gemma 3 12B has 11.0B more parameters than Gemma 3 1B, making it 1100.0% larger.

Google
Gemma 3 12B
12.0Bparameters
Google
Gemma 3 1B
1.0Bparameters
12.0B
Gemma 3 12B
1.0B
Gemma 3 1B

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 3 12B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Google
Gemma 3 1B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Wed Jul 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemma 3 12B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Gemma 3 1B does not.

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

Gemma 3 12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemma 3 1B

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 3 12B

Gemma

Open weights

Gemma 3 1B

Gemma

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Both models were released on 2025-03-12.

They likely represent similar generations of model development.

Gemma 3 12B

Mar 12, 2025

1.3 years ago

Gemma 3 1B

Mar 12, 2025

1.3 years ago

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

Google
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher BIG-Bench Extra Hard score (16.3% vs 7.2%)
Higher BIG-Bench Hard score (85.7% vs 39.1%)
Higher Bird-SQL (dev) score (47.9% vs 6.4%)
Higher ECLeKTic score (10.3% vs 1.4%)
Higher FACTS Grounding score (75.8% vs 36.4%)
Higher Global-MMLU-Lite score (69.5% vs 34.2%)
Higher GPQA score (40.9% vs 19.2%)
Higher GSM8k score (94.4% vs 62.8%)
Higher HiddenMath score (54.5% vs 15.8%)
Higher HumanEval score (85.4% vs 41.5%)
Higher IFEval score (88.9% vs 80.2%)
Higher LiveCodeBench score (24.6% vs 1.9%)
Higher MATH score (83.8% vs 48.0%)
Higher MBPP score (73.0% vs 35.2%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (60.6% vs 14.7%)
Higher Natural2Code score (80.7% vs 56.0%)
Higher SimpleQA score (6.3% vs 2.2%)
Higher WMT24++ score (51.6% vs 35.9%)
Google

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

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 12B and Gemma 3 1B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 3 12B
✓ Preferred
Gemma 3 1B
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Google
Gemma 3 1B

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Gemma 3 1B.

Which is better, Gemma 3 12B or Gemma 3 1B?

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B is made by Google and Gemma 3 1B is made by Google. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 3 12B compare to Gemma 3 1B in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 12B scores GSM8k: 94.4%, IFEval: 88.9%, DocVQA: 87.1%, BIG-Bench Hard: 85.7%, HumanEval: 85.4%. Gemma 3 1B scores IFEval: 80.2%, GSM8k: 62.8%, Natural2Code: 56.0%, MATH: 48.0%, HumanEval: 41.5%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3 12B and Gemma 3 1B?

Gemma 3 12B supports 131K tokens and Gemma 3 1B supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Gemma 3 12B and Gemma 3 1B?

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

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