Model Comparison
Gemma 3 4B vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Gemma 3 4B is 19.5x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Gemma 3 4B vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking — which is better?
Gemma 3 4B (by Google) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking (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 4B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (IFEval), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro). Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
On price, Gemma 3 4B is roughly 19.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Gemma 3 4B also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Gemma 3 4B if…
- cost matters — it's about 19.5x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemma 3 4B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (IFEval), while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro).
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Gemma 3 4B ($0.02/1M tokens) is 7.5x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking ($0.15/1M tokens).
For output processing, Gemma 3 4B ($0.04/1M tokens) is 37.5x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking ($1.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is more expensive than Gemma 3 4B.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking has 76.0B more parameters than Gemma 3 4B, making it 1900.0% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Gemma 3 4B accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking's 65,536 tokens. Gemma 3 4B can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is limited to 65,536 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Gemma 3 4B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking does not.
Gemma 3 4B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Gemma 3 4B
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 3 4B is licensed under Gemma, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Gemma
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 3 4B was released on 2025-03-12, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking was released on 2025-09-10.
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is 6 months newer than Gemma 3 4B.
Mar 12, 2025
1.3 years ago
Sep 10, 2025
9 months ago
6mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemma 3 4B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-08-01, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemma 3 4B's training data extends to 2024-08-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking's cutoff date.
Aug 2024
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Provider Availability
Gemma 3 4B is available from DeepInfra. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is available from Novita.
Gemma 3 4B
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Gemma 3 4B
View details
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 3 4B vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking.