Model Comparison

Gemma 3 12B vs Phi 4 ReasoningWhich is better in 2026?

Phi 4 Reasoning shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Phi 4 Reasoning — which is better?

Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Phi 4 Reasoning (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 (IFEval), while Phi 4 Reasoning is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench, MMLU-Pro). Phi 4 Reasoning shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Choose Gemma 3 12B if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.05/M input and $0.10/M output

Choose Phi 4 Reasoning if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 4 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (IFEval), while Phi 4 Reasoning is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench, MMLU-Pro).

Phi 4 Reasoning shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Wed Jun 10 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

2.0B diff

Phi 4 Reasoning has 2.0B more parameters than Gemma 3 12B, making it 16.7% larger.

Google
Gemma 3 12B
12.0Bparameters
Microsoft
Phi 4 Reasoning
14.0Bparameters
12.0B
Gemma 3 12B
14.0B
Phi 4 Reasoning

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
Microsoft
Phi 4 Reasoning
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Wed Jun 10 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemma 3 12B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 Reasoning 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 4 Reasoning

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3 12B is licensed under Gemma, while Phi 4 Reasoning 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 4 Reasoning

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12, while Phi 4 Reasoning was released on 2025-04-30.

Phi 4 Reasoning is 2 months newer than Gemma 3 12B.

Gemma 3 12B

Mar 12, 2025

1.2 years ago

Phi 4 Reasoning

Apr 30, 2025

1.1 years ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Phi 4 Reasoning has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-03-01, while Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Phi 4 Reasoning's training data extends to 2025-03-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 3 12B's cutoff date.

Gemma 3 12B

—

Phi 4 Reasoning

Mar 2025

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher IFEval score (88.9% vs 83.4%)
Microsoft
Higher GPQA score (65.8% vs 40.9%)
Higher LiveCodeBench score (53.8% vs 24.6%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (74.3% vs 60.6%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 12B
Microsoft
Phi 4 Reasoning

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Phi 4 Reasoning.

Which is better, Gemma 3 12B or Phi 4 Reasoning?

Phi 4 Reasoning shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Gemma 3 12B is made by Google and Phi 4 Reasoning 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 4 Reasoning in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 12B scores GSM8k: 94.4%, IFEval: 88.9%, DocVQA: 87.1%, BIG-Bench Hard: 85.7%, HumanEval: 85.4%. Phi 4 Reasoning scores FlenQA: 97.7%, HumanEval+: 92.9%, IFEval: 83.4%, OmniMath: 76.6%, AIME 2024: 75.3%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3 12B and Phi 4 Reasoning?

Gemma 3 12B supports 131K tokens and Phi 4 Reasoning 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 Phi 4 Reasoning?

Key differences include 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 4 Reasoning?

Gemma 3 12B is developed by Google and Phi 4 Reasoning is developed by Microsoft.

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