Model Comparison
Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen2 72B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Qwen2 72B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen2 72B Instruct — which is better?
Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Qwen2 72B Instruct (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) 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 2 benchmarks (GSM8k, MATH), while Qwen2 72B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MBPP, MMLU-Pro). Qwen2 72B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Choose Gemma 3 12B if…
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
Choose Qwen2 72B Instruct if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 6 shared benchmarks
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GSM8k, MATH), while Qwen2 72B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval, MBPP, MMLU-Pro).
Qwen2 72B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen2 72B Instruct has 60.0B more parameters than Gemma 3 12B, making it 500.0% 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
Gemma 3 12B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen2 72B 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
Qwen2 72B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 3 12B is licensed under Gemma, while Qwen2 72B Instruct uses tongyi-qianwen.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Gemma
Open weights
tongyi-qianwen
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 3 12B was released on 2025-03-12, while Qwen2 72B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.
Gemma 3 12B is 8 months newer than Qwen2 72B Instruct.
Mar 12, 2025
1.3 years ago
7mo newerJul 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.
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Gemma 3 12B
View details
Qwen2 72B Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen2 72B Instruct.