Gemma 4 12B vs Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking
Gemma 4 12B and Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking are closely matched at 22.0 and 23.6 on the LLM Stats Score.
Google · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemma 4 12B and Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 22.0 and 23.6.
In the 5 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Gemma 4 12B wins 4; 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 4 12B
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 4 of 5 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped May 2026
Choose Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking
- you are already invested in the Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team ecosystem
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
15 reported for Gemma 4 12B · 47 for Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking
Gemma 4 12B outperforms in 4 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench v6, MathVision, MMMU-Pro), while Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking is better at 1 benchmark (MMLU-Pro).
Gemma 4 12B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking has 21.0B more parameters than Gemma 4 12B, making it 175.9% larger.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Gemma 4 12B and Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemma 4 12B
Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under Apache 2.0.
Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 4 12B was released on 2026-05-23, while Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking was released on 2025-09-22.
Gemma 4 12B is 8 months newer than Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking.
May 23, 2026
3 months ago
8mo newerSep 22, 2025
11 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemma 4 12B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-01, while Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemma 4 12B's training data extends to 2025-01-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking's cutoff date.
Jan 2025
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Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 4 12B and Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 4 12B vs Qwen3 VL 32B Thinking.