Gemma 3 27B vs Phi 4 Mini
Gemma 3 27B leads the LLM Stats Score 8.4 to -4.1.
Google · Microsoft · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemma 3 27B leads the overall LLM Stats Score 8.4 to -4.1, ranking #269 overall.
In the 5 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Gemma 3 27B wins 5; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Gemma 3 27B
- overall performance matters — it scores 8.4 and ranks #269 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 5 of 5 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
Choose Phi 4 Mini
- you are already invested in the Microsoft ecosystem
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
27 reported for Gemma 3 27B · 17 for Phi 4 Mini
Gemma 3 27B outperforms in 5 benchmarks (BIG-Bench Hard, GPQA, GSM8k, MATH, MMLU-Pro), while Phi 4 Mini is better at 0 benchmarks.
Gemma 3 27B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Gemma 3 27B has 23.2B more parameters than Phi 4 Mini, making it 603.1% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Gemma 3 27B specifies input context (131,072 tokens). Only Gemma 3 27B specifies output context (131,072 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Gemma 3 27B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi 4 Mini does not.
Gemma 3 27B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Gemma 3 27B
Phi 4 Mini
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 3 27B is licensed under Gemma, while Phi 4 Mini uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Gemma
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 3 27B was released on 2025-03-12, while Phi 4 Mini was released on 2025-02-01.
Gemma 3 27B is 1 month newer than Phi 4 Mini.
Mar 12, 2025
1.5 years ago
1mo newerFeb 1, 2025
1.6 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Phi 4 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Gemma 3 27B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Phi 4 Mini's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 3 27B's cutoff date.
—
Jun 2024
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 27B and Phi 4 Mini side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3 27B vs Phi 4 Mini.