Model Comparison
Gemma 3 12B vs Phi-4-multimodal-instructWhich is better in 2026?
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct cost the same.
Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct — which is better?
Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Phi-4-multimodal-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 1 benchmarks (AI2D), while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (ChartQA, DocVQA, InfoVQA, TextVQA). Phi-4-multimodal-instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
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 process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
Choose Phi-4-multimodal-instruct if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 5 shared benchmarks
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (AI2D), while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (ChartQA, DocVQA, InfoVQA, TextVQA).
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct 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) costs the same as Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.05/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemma 3 12B ($0.10/1M tokens) costs the same as Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Gemma 3 12B and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct cost the same.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Gemma 3 12B has 6.4B more parameters than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct, making it 114.3% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Gemma 3 12B accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Phi-4-multimodal-instruct's 128,000 tokens. Gemma 3 12B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Gemma 3 12B and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemma 3 12B
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 3 12B is licensed under Gemma, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Gemma
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct was released on 2025-02-01.
Gemma 3 12B is 1 month newer than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.
Mar 12, 2025
1.3 years ago
1mo newerFeb 1, 2025
1.4 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Phi-4-multimodal-instruct's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date.
—
Jun 2024
Provider Availability
Gemma 3 12B is available from DeepInfra. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is available from DeepInfra.
Gemma 3 12B
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Gemma 3 12B
View detailsDetailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.