Model Comparison
Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen2.5 VL 72B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct — which is better?
Gemma 3 12B (by Google) and Qwen2.5 VL 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 0 benchmarks, while Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (AI2D, ChartQA, DocVQA, MathVista-Mini). Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Choose Gemma 3 12B if…
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
Choose Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemma 3 12B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct is better at 4 benchmarks (AI2D, ChartQA, DocVQA, MathVista-Mini).
Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen2.5 VL 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
Both Gemma 3 12B and Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemma 3 12B
Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 3 12B is licensed under Gemma, while Qwen2.5 VL 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 Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct was released on 2025-01-26.
Gemma 3 12B is 2 months newer than Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct.
Mar 12, 2025
1.4 years ago
1mo newerJan 26, 2025
1.5 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
Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 12B and Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen2.5 VL 72B Instruct.