Model Comparison

Gemma 3 12B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instructWhich is better in 2026?

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B is 1.6x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct — which is better?

Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct (by Microsoft) 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 7 benchmarks (BIG-Bench Hard, GPQA, GSM8k, HumanEval, MATH, MBPP, MMLU-Pro), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Gemma 3 12B is roughly 1.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Gemma 3 12B also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 7 of 7 shared benchmarks
  • cost matters — it's about 1.6x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025

Choose Phi-3.5-mini-instruct if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

7 benchmarks

Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 7 benchmarks (BIG-Bench Hard, GPQA, GSM8k, HumanEval, MATH, MBPP, MMLU-Pro), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Gemma 3 12B costs less

For input processing, Gemma 3 12B ($0.05/1M tokens) is 2.0x cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemma 3 12B ($0.10/1M tokens) costs the same as Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is more expensive than Gemma 3 12B.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Input tokens$0.05
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerDeepinfra
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerAzure
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

8.2B diff

Gemma 3 12B has 8.2B more parameters than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct, making it 215.8% larger.

Google
Gemma 3 12B
12.0Bparameters
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
3.8Bparameters
12.0B
Gemma 3 12B
3.8B
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemma 3 12B accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's 128,000 tokens. Gemma 3 12B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Google
Gemma 3 12B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemma 3 12B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi-3.5-mini-instruct 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

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3 12B is licensed under Gemma, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct uses MIT.

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

Gemma 3 12B

Gemma

Open weights

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Gemma 3 12B is 7 months newer than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Gemma 3 12B

Mar 12, 2025

1.4 years ago

6mo newer
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.9 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Gemma 3 12B is available from DeepInfra. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is available from Azure.

Gemma 3 12B

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

azure logo
Azure
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Less expensive input tokens
Higher BIG-Bench Hard score (85.7% vs 69.0%)
Higher GPQA score (40.9% vs 30.4%)
Higher GSM8k score (94.4% vs 86.2%)
Higher HumanEval score (85.4% vs 62.8%)
Higher MATH score (83.8% vs 48.5%)
Higher MBPP score (73.0% vs 69.6%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (60.6% vs 47.4%)
Microsoft

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

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 12B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 3 12B
✓ Preferred
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Microsoft
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Which is better, Gemma 3 12B or Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Gemma 3 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B is made by Google and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 3 12B compare to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 12B scores GSM8k: 94.4%, IFEval: 88.9%, DocVQA: 87.1%, BIG-Bench Hard: 85.7%, HumanEval: 85.4%. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct scores GSM8k: 86.2%, ARC-C: 84.6%, RULER: 84.1%, PIQA: 81.0%, OpenBookQA: 79.2%.

Is Gemma 3 12B cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Gemma 3 12B is 2.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemma 3 12B costs $0.05/M input and $0.10/M output via deepinfra. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via azure.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3 12B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Gemma 3 12B supports 131K tokens and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct supports 128K 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 Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Key differences include context window (131K vs 128K), input pricing ($0.05 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Gemma vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemma 3 12B and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Gemma 3 12B is developed by Google and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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