Model Comparison
Gemma 3 12B vs Magistral MediumWhich is better in 2026?
Magistral Medium significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Magistral Medium — which is better?
Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Magistral Medium (by Mistral AI) 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 Magistral Medium is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench). Magistral Medium significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Choose Gemma 3 12B if…
- you want predictable pricing at $0.05/M input and $0.10/M output
Choose Magistral Medium if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Magistral Medium is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench).
Magistral Medium significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Magistral Medium has 12.0B more parameters than Gemma 3 12B, making it 100.0% 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
Supported data types and modalities
Both Gemma 3 12B and Magistral Medium support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemma 3 12B
Magistral Medium
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 3 12B is licensed under Gemma, while Magistral Medium uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Gemma
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12, while Magistral Medium was released on 2025-06-10.
Magistral Medium is 3 months newer than Gemma 3 12B.
Mar 12, 2025
1.3 years ago
Jun 10, 2025
1.0 years ago
3mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Magistral Medium has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-06-01, while Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Magistral Medium's training data extends to 2025-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date.
—
Jun 2025
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Gemma 3 12B
View detailsMagistral Medium
View detailsMistral AI
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Magistral Medium.