Model Comparison

Gemma 3 1B vs Qwen2.5-Coder 7B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Gemma 3 1B vs Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct — which is better?

Gemma 3 1B (by Google) and Qwen2.5-Coder 7B 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 1B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MATH), while Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (GSM8k, HumanEval, LiveCodeBench, MBPP, MMLU-Pro). Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Gemma 3 1B if…

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

Choose Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 6 shared benchmarks

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

6 benchmarks

Gemma 3 1B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MATH), while Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (GSM8k, HumanEval, LiveCodeBench, MBPP, MMLU-Pro).

Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

6.0B diff

Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct has 6.0B more parameters than Gemma 3 1B, making it 600.0% larger.

Google
Gemma 3 1B
1.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct
7.0Bparameters
1.0B
Gemma 3 1B
7.0B
Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3 1B is licensed under Gemma, while Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct 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

Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3 1B was released on 2025-03-12, while Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct was released on 2024-09-19.

Gemma 3 1B is 6 months newer than Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct.

Gemma 3 1B

Mar 12, 2025

1.4 years ago

5mo newer
Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct

Sep 19, 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

Higher MATH score (48.0% vs 46.6%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Higher GSM8k score (83.9% vs 62.8%)
Higher HumanEval score (88.4% vs 41.5%)
Higher LiveCodeBench score (18.2% vs 1.9%)
Higher MBPP score (83.5% vs 35.2%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (40.1% vs 14.7%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 1B and Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 3 1B
✓ Preferred
Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 1B
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 1B vs Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct.

Which is better, Gemma 3 1B or Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct?

Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 3 1B is made by Google and Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 3 1B compare to Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 1B scores IFEval: 80.2%, GSM8k: 62.8%, Natural2Code: 56.0%, MATH: 48.0%, HumanEval: 41.5%. Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct scores HumanEval: 88.4%, GSM8k: 83.9%, MBPP: 83.5%, HellaSwag: 76.8%, Winogrande: 72.9%.

What are the main differences between Gemma 3 1B and Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct?

Key differences include licensing (Gemma vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemma 3 1B and Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct?

Gemma 3 1B is developed by Google and Qwen2.5-Coder 7B Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.