AI model comparison
Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 3.2 1B Instruct
Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.
Gemma 3 12B
Gemma 3 introduces multimodality, supporting vision-language input and text outputs.
- Input / 1M
- $0.05
- Output / 1M
- $0.15
- Context
- 131K
Llama 3.2 1B is a 1-billion-parameter language model focused on efficiently performing natural language tasks, such as summarization, dialogue, and multilingual text analysis.
- Input / 1M
- $0.03
- Output / 1M
- $0.20
- Context
- 60K
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
Llama 3.2 1B Instruct
1.1x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Llama 3.2 1B Instruct
4.8 vs 3.8 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Gemma 3 12B
131K vs 60K tokens
Newer release
Gemma 3 12B
Released March 13, 2025
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Gemma 3 12B3.8Coding index
Gemma 3 12B5.8Agentic index
Gemma 3 12B0.1Pricing
Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 3.2 1B Instruct API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | Gemma 3 12B | |
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.05 | $0.03 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.15 | $0.20 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | Not available | Not available |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | Not available |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
Gemma 3 12B$0.17Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Gemma 3 12B$2.10Long document summary
150K in, 2K out
Gemma 3 12B$7.80Specs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | Gemma 3 12B | |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 131K tokens | 60K tokens |
| Max output | 16K tokens | 54K tokens |
| Input types | Image, Text | Text |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | Not available | Not available |
| Default reasoning effort | Not available | Not available |
| Release date | March 13, 2025 | September 25, 2024 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | Gemma 3 12B | |
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Not supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Not supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Not supported |
| Reasoning | Not supported | Not supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Llama 4 Scout
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Reka Flash 3
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Ministral 3 14B 2512
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Nova Micro 1.0
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Ministral 3 8B 2512
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Gemma 3 27B
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Granite 4.0 Micro
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Ministral 3 3B 2512
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct vs Gemma 3 4B
Our take
Llama 3.2 1B Instruct is 1.1x cheaper for a typical chat. Llama 3.2 1B Instruct scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (4.8 vs 3.8). Gemma 3 12B has the larger context window (131K vs 60K tokens). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.2 1B Instruct cheaper?
Llama 3.2 1B Instruct is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Llama 3.2 1B Instruct costs $0.03 per 1M input tokens and $0.20 per 1M output tokens, while Gemma 3 12B costs $0.05 per 1M input tokens and $0.15 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.2 1B Instruct?
Gemma 3 12B supports up to 131K tokens of context, compared with 60K for Llama 3.2 1B Instruct.
Is Gemma 3 12B smarter than Llama 3.2 1B Instruct?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Gemma 3 12B scores 3.8 and Llama 3.2 1B Instruct scores 4.8, putting Llama 3.2 1B Instruct ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use Gemma 3 12B and Llama 3.2 1B Instruct at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Gemma 3 12B and Llama 3.2 1B Instruct answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to Gemma 3 12B and Llama 3.2 1B Instruct at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.