Model Comparison

Gemma 3 1B vs Grok-3 MiniWhich is better in 2026?

Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Gemma 3 1B vs Grok-3 Mini — which is better?

Gemma 3 1B (by Google) and Grok-3 Mini (by xAI) 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 1B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-3 Mini is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench). Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Gemma 3 1B if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Grok-3 Mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Gemma 3 1B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Grok-3 Mini is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench).

Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Grok-3 Mini specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Grok-3 Mini specifies output context (8,000 tokens).

Google
Gemma 3 1B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok-3 Mini supports multimodal inputs, whereas Gemma 3 1B does not.

Grok-3 Mini can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemma 3 1B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Grok-3 Mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3 1B is licensed under Gemma, while Grok-3 Mini uses a proprietary license.

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

Gemma 3 1B

Gemma

Open weights

Grok-3 Mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3 1B was released on 2025-03-12, while Grok-3 Mini was released on 2025-02-17.

Gemma 3 1B is 1 month newer than Grok-3 Mini.

Gemma 3 1B

Mar 12, 2025

1.4 years ago

3w newer
Grok-3 Mini

Feb 17, 2025

1.4 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-3 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while Gemma 3 1B's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-3 Mini's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 3 1B's cutoff date.

Gemma 3 1B

—

Grok-3 Mini

Nov 2024

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Has open weights
xAI
Larger context window (128,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (84.0% vs 19.2%)
Higher LiveCodeBench score (80.4% vs 1.9%)
GoogleGemma 3 1B
xAIGrok-3 Mini
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 1B and Grok-3 Mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 3 1B
✓ Preferred
Grok-3 Mini
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 1B
xAI
Grok-3 Mini

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 1B vs Grok-3 Mini.

Which is better, Gemma 3 1B or Grok-3 Mini?

Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 1B is made by Google and Grok-3 Mini is made by xAI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 3 1B compare to Grok-3 Mini in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 1B scores IFEval: 80.2%, GSM8k: 62.8%, Natural2Code: 56.0%, MATH: 48.0%, HumanEval: 41.5%. Grok-3 Mini scores AIME 2024: 95.8%, AIME 2025: 90.8%, GPQA: 84.0%, LiveCodeBench: 80.4%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3 1B and Grok-3 Mini?

Gemma 3 1B supports an unknown number of tokens and Grok-3 Mini 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 1B and Grok-3 Mini?

Key differences include multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Gemma vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemma 3 1B and Grok-3 Mini?

Gemma 3 1B is developed by Google and Grok-3 Mini is developed by xAI.

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