Model Comparison
Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 4 MaverickWhich is better in 2026?
Llama 4 Maverick significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B is 4.4x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 4 Maverick — which is better?
Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Llama 4 Maverick (by Meta) 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 (MATH), while Llama 4 Maverick is better at 6 benchmarks (ChartQA, DocVQA, GPQA, LiveCodeBench, MBPP, MMLU-Pro). Llama 4 Maverick significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Gemma 3 12B is roughly 4.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Llama 4 Maverick also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Gemma 3 12B if…
- cost matters — it's about 4.4x cheaper per token
Choose Llama 4 Maverick if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 6 of 7 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MATH), while Llama 4 Maverick is better at 6 benchmarks (ChartQA, DocVQA, GPQA, LiveCodeBench, MBPP, MMLU-Pro).
Llama 4 Maverick significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Gemma 3 12B ($0.05/1M tokens) is 3.4x cheaper than Llama 4 Maverick ($0.17/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemma 3 12B ($0.10/1M tokens) is 6.0x cheaper than Llama 4 Maverick ($0.60/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Llama 4 Maverick is more expensive than Gemma 3 12B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Llama 4 Maverick has 388.0B more parameters than Gemma 3 12B, making it 3233.3% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Llama 4 Maverick accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Gemma 3 12B's 131,072 tokens. Llama 4 Maverick can generate longer responses up to 1,000,000 tokens, while Gemma 3 12B is limited to 131,072 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Gemma 3 12B and Llama 4 Maverick support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemma 3 12B
Llama 4 Maverick
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 3 12B is licensed under Gemma, while Llama 4 Maverick uses Llama 4 Community License Agreement.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Gemma
Open weights
Llama 4 Community License Agreement
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12, while Llama 4 Maverick was released on 2025-04-05.
Llama 4 Maverick is 1 month newer than Gemma 3 12B.
Mar 12, 2025
1.4 years ago
Apr 5, 2025
1.3 years ago
3w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Gemma 3 12B is available from DeepInfra. Llama 4 Maverick is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Lambda, Groq, Fireworks, Together, Sambanova.
Gemma 3 12B
Llama 4 Maverick
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Gemma 3 12B
View detailsDetailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 12B and Llama 4 Maverick side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 4 Maverick.