Gemma 3 12B vs Gemma 3 1B
Gemma 3 12B leads the LLM Stats Score 5.8 to -9.9.
Google · Google · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemma 3 12B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 5.8 to -9.9, ranking #275 overall.
In the 18 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Gemma 3 12B wins 18; 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 3 12B
- overall performance matters — it scores 5.8 and ranks #275 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 18 of 18 exact shared results
Choose Gemma 3 1B
- you are already invested in the Google ecosystem
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
26 reported for Gemma 3 12B · 18 for Gemma 3 1B
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.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Gemma 3 12B has 11.0B more parameters than Gemma 3 1B, making it 1100.0% larger.
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).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
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
Gemma 3 1B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under Gemma.
Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.
Gemma
Open weights
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.
Mar 12, 2025
1.5 years ago
Mar 12, 2025
1.5 years ago
Knowledge 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 3 12B and Gemma 3 1B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Gemma 3 1B.