Model Comparison

Gemma 3 12B vs Gemma 3n E2BWhich is better in 2026?

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Gemma 3n E2B — which is better?

Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Gemma 3n E2B (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 1 benchmarks (BIG-Bench Hard), while Gemma 3n E2B 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 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Gemma 3n E2B if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2025
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (BIG-Bench Hard), while Gemma 3n E2B is better at 0 benchmarks.

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

4.0B diff

Gemma 3 12B has 4.0B more parameters than Gemma 3n E2B, making it 50.0% larger.

Google
Gemma 3 12B
12.0Bparameters
Google
Gemma 3n E2B
8.0Bparameters
12.0B
Gemma 3 12B
8.0B
Gemma 3n E2B

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 3n E2B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jun 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Gemma 3 12B and Gemma 3n E2B support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Gemma 3 12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Gemma 3n E2B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3 12B is licensed under Gemma, while Gemma 3n E2B uses a proprietary license.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Gemma 3 12B

Gemma

Open weights

Gemma 3n E2B

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12, while Gemma 3n E2B was released on 2025-06-26.

Gemma 3n E2B is 4 months newer than Gemma 3 12B.

Gemma 3 12B

Mar 12, 2025

1.3 years ago

Gemma 3n E2B

Jun 26, 2025

11 months ago

3mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemma 3n E2B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemma 3n E2B's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date.

Gemma 3 12B

—

Gemma 3n E2B

Jun 2024

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Has open weights
Higher BIG-Bench Hard score (85.7% vs 44.3%)
Google

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

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Google
Gemma 3n E2B

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Gemma 3n E2B.

Which is better, Gemma 3 12B or Gemma 3n E2B?

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B is made by Google and Gemma 3n E2B 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 3n E2B in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 12B scores GSM8k: 94.4%, IFEval: 88.9%, DocVQA: 87.1%, BIG-Bench Hard: 85.7%, HumanEval: 85.4%. Gemma 3n E2B scores PIQA: 78.9%, BoolQ: 76.4%, ARC-E: 75.8%, HellaSwag: 72.2%, Winogrande: 66.8%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3 12B and Gemma 3n E2B?

Gemma 3 12B supports 131K tokens and Gemma 3n E2B 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 3n E2B?

Key differences include licensing (Gemma vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

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