Gemma 4 26B-A4B vs Qwen3.8-27B
Qwen3.8-27B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Google · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemma 4 26B-A4B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3.8-27B is better at 4 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, LiveCodeBench v6, MathVision). Qwen3.8-27B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Gemma 4 26B-A4B
- you want predictable pricing at $0.13/M input and $0.40/M output
Choose Qwen3.8-27B
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Gemma 4 26B-A4B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3.8-27B is better at 4 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam, LiveCodeBench v6, MathVision).
Qwen3.8-27B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3.8-27B has 2.6B more parameters than Gemma 4 26B-A4B, making it 10.2% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Gemma 4 26B-A4B specifies input context (262,144 tokens). Only Gemma 4 26B-A4B specifies output context (131,072 tokens).
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Gemma 4 26B-A4B and Qwen3.8-27B support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Gemma 4 26B-A4B
Qwen3.8-27B
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 26B-A4B was released on 2026-04-02, while Qwen3.8-27B was released on 2026-08-14.
Qwen3.8-27B is 4 months newer than Gemma 4 26B-A4B.
Apr 2, 2026
4 months ago
Aug 14, 2026
1 weeks ago
4mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Gemma 4 26B-A4B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-01-01, while Qwen3.8-27B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Gemma 4 26B-A4B's training data extends to 2025-01-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3.8-27B's cutoff date.
Jan 2025
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Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 4 26B-A4B and Qwen3.8-27B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 4 26B-A4B vs Qwen3.8-27B.