Model Comparison

Gemma 4 12B vs Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)Which is better in 2026?

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Gemma 4 12B vs Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) — which is better?

Gemma 4 12B (by Google) and Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) (by NVIDIA) 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 4 12B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) is better at 4 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, LiveCodeBench v6, MMLU-Pro). Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Gemma 4 12B if…

  • you are already invested in the Google ecosystem

Choose Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

Gemma 4 12B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) is better at 4 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, LiveCodeBench v6, MMLU-Pro).

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

538.0B diff

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) has 538.0B more parameters than Gemma 4 12B, making it 4498.8% larger.

Google
Gemma 4 12B
12.0Bparameters
NVIDIA
Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)
550.0Bparameters
12.0B
Gemma 4 12B
550.0B
Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemma 4 12B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) does not.

Gemma 4 12B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemma 4 12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 4 12B is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) uses OpenMDW License v1.1.

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

Gemma 4 12B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)

OpenMDW License v1.1

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 4 12B was released on 2026-05-23, while Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) was released on 2026-06-04.

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) is 0 month newer than Gemma 4 12B.

Gemma 4 12B

May 23, 2026

1 months ago

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)

Jun 4, 2026

1 months ago

1w newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemma 4 12B has a knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-01, while Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) has a cutoff of 2025-09-30.

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) has more recent training data (up to 2025-09-30), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Gemma 4 12B (2025-01-01).

Gemma 4 12B

Jan 2025

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)

Sep 2025

8 mo newer

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Supports multimodal inputs
NVIDIA
Higher GPQA score (87.0% vs 78.8%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (37.4% vs 5.2%)
Higher LiveCodeBench v6 score (89.0% vs 72.0%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (86.8% vs 77.2%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 4 12B and Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 4 12B
✓ Preferred
Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 4 12B
NVIDIA
Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 4 12B vs Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B).

Which is better, Gemma 4 12B or Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)?

Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemma 4 12B is made by Google and Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) is made by NVIDIA. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 4 12B compare to Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) in benchmarks?

Gemma 4 12B scores FLEURS: 93.1%, MMMLU: 83.4%, MathVision: 79.7%, GPQA: 78.8%, AIME 2026: 77.5%. Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) scores RULER: 94.7%, IMO-AnswerBench: 92.3%, PinchBench: 90.0%, LiveCodeBench v6: 89.0%, GPQA: 87.0%.

What are the main differences between Gemma 4 12B and Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)?

Key differences include multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs OpenMDW License v1.1). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemma 4 12B and Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B)?

Gemma 4 12B is developed by Google and Nemotron 3 Ultra (550B A55B) is developed by NVIDIA.

Related comparisons