Model Comparison

Gemma 3 1B vs Pixtral-12BWhich is better in 2026?

Pixtral-12B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Verdict: Gemma 3 1B vs Pixtral-12B — which is better?

Gemma 3 1B (by Google) and Pixtral-12B (by Mistral AI) 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 1 benchmarks (IFEval), while Pixtral-12B is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MATH). Pixtral-12B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Choose Gemma 3 1B if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025

Choose Pixtral-12B if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Gemma 3 1B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (IFEval), while Pixtral-12B is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MATH).

Pixtral-12B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

11.4B diff

Pixtral-12B has 11.4B more parameters than Gemma 3 1B, making it 1140.0% larger.

Google
Gemma 3 1B
1.0Bparameters
Mistral AI
Pixtral-12B
12.4Bparameters
1.0B
Gemma 3 1B
12.4B
Pixtral-12B

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Pixtral-12B specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Pixtral-12B specifies output context (8,192 tokens).

Google
Gemma 3 1B
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Mistral AI
Pixtral-12B
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Pixtral-12B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Gemma 3 1B does not.

Pixtral-12B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemma 3 1B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Pixtral-12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3 1B is licensed under Gemma, while Pixtral-12B uses Apache 2.0.

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

Gemma 3 1B

Gemma

Open weights

Pixtral-12B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3 1B was released on 2025-03-12, while Pixtral-12B was released on 2024-09-17.

Gemma 3 1B is 6 months newer than Pixtral-12B.

Gemma 3 1B

Mar 12, 2025

1.4 years ago

5mo newer
Pixtral-12B

Sep 17, 2024

1.8 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Higher IFEval score (80.2% vs 61.3%)
Mistral AI
Larger context window (128,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher HumanEval score (72.0% vs 41.5%)
Higher MATH score (48.1% vs 48.0%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 1B and Pixtral-12B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 3 1B
✓ Preferred
Pixtral-12B
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 1B
Mistral AI
Pixtral-12B

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 1B vs Pixtral-12B.

Which is better, Gemma 3 1B or Pixtral-12B?

Pixtral-12B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Gemma 3 1B is made by Google and Pixtral-12B is made by Mistral AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 3 1B compare to Pixtral-12B in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 1B scores IFEval: 80.2%, GSM8k: 62.8%, Natural2Code: 56.0%, MATH: 48.0%, HumanEval: 41.5%. Pixtral-12B scores DocVQA: 90.7%, ChartQA: 81.8%, VQAv2: 78.6%, MT-Bench: 76.8%, HumanEval: 72.0%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3 1B and Pixtral-12B?

Gemma 3 1B supports an unknown number of tokens and Pixtral-12B 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 Pixtral-12B?

Key differences include multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Gemma vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemma 3 1B and Pixtral-12B?

Gemma 3 1B is developed by Google and Pixtral-12B is developed by Mistral AI.

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