Model Comparison

Gemma 3 12B vs Grok-4 HeavyWhich is better in 2026?

Grok-4 Heavy significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Grok-4 Heavy — which is better?

Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Grok-4 Heavy (by xAI) 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 0 benchmarks, while Grok-4 Heavy is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench). Grok-4 Heavy significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Grok-4 Heavy if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-4 Heavy is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench).

Grok-4 Heavy significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jun 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

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
xAI
Grok-4 Heavy
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sat Jun 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Gemma 3 12B and Grok-4 Heavy support multimodal inputs.

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

Gemma 3 12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-4 Heavy

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3 12B is licensed under Gemma, while Grok-4 Heavy 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

Grok-4 Heavy

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12, while Grok-4 Heavy's release date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemma 3 12B's release timeline, but cannot make a direct age comparison without Grok-4 Heavy's release date.

Gemma 3 12B

Mar 12, 2025

1.3 years ago

Grok-4 Heavy

—

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-4 Heavy has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-12-31, while Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-4 Heavy's training data extends to 2024-12-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date.

Gemma 3 12B

—

Grok-4 Heavy

Dec 2024

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Has open weights
xAI
Higher GPQA score (88.4% vs 40.9%)
Higher LiveCodeBench score (79.4% vs 24.6%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 12B and Grok-4 Heavy side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 3 12B
✓ Preferred
Grok-4 Heavy
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 12B
xAI
Grok-4 Heavy

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Grok-4 Heavy.

Which is better, Gemma 3 12B or Grok-4 Heavy?

Grok-4 Heavy significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B is made by Google and Grok-4 Heavy is made by xAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 3 12B compare to Grok-4 Heavy in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 12B scores GSM8k: 94.4%, IFEval: 88.9%, DocVQA: 87.1%, BIG-Bench Hard: 85.7%, HumanEval: 85.4%. Grok-4 Heavy scores AIME 2025: 100.0%, HMMT25: 96.7%, GPQA: 88.4%, LiveCodeBench: 79.4%, USAMO25: 61.9%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3 12B and Grok-4 Heavy?

Gemma 3 12B supports 131K tokens and Grok-4 Heavy 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 Grok-4 Heavy?

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

Who makes Gemma 3 12B and Grok-4 Heavy?

Gemma 3 12B is developed by Google and Grok-4 Heavy is developed by xAI.

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