AI model comparison

Gemma 3 27B vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.

Gemma 3 introduces multimodality, supporting vision-language input and text outputs.

Input / 1M
$0.08
Output / 1M
$0.45
Context
131K

Llama 3.2 3B is a 3-billion-parameter multilingual large language model, optimized for advanced natural language processing tasks like dialogue generation, reasoning, and summarization.

Input / 1M
$0.05
Output / 1M
$0.33
Context
131K

At a glance

Quick verdict

How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.

Lower price

meta-llama logo

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

1.5x cheaper for a typical chat

Higher intelligence score

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Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

5.7 vs 4.9 on Artificial Analysis

Larger context window

Tie

131K vs 131K tokens

Newer release

google logo

Gemma 3 27B

Released March 12, 2025

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores

Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.

Intelligence index

google logoGemma 3 27B4.9
meta-llama logoLlama 3.2 3B Instruct5.7

Coding index

google logoGemma 3 27B10.1
meta-llama logoLlama 3.2 3B InstructNot available

Agentic index

google logoGemma 3 27B0.1
meta-llama logoLlama 3.2 3B InstructNot available

Pricing

Gemma 3 27B vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct API pricing

Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.

Metricgoogle logoGemma 3 27Bmeta-llama logoLlama 3.2 3B Instruct
Input tokensPer 1M tokens$0.08$0.05
Output tokensPer 1M tokens$0.45$0.33
Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens$0.04Not available
Cache writePer 1M tokensNot availableNot 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

google logoGemma 3 27B$0.39
meta-llama logoLlama 3.2 3B Instruct$0.27

Coding task

30K in, 4K out

google logoGemma 3 27B$4.20$3 cached
meta-llama logoLlama 3.2 3B Instruct$2.82

Long document summary

150K in, 2K out

google logoGemma 3 27B$12.90$6.90 cached
meta-llama logoLlama 3.2 3B Instruct$8.16

Specs

Context window and capabilities

How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.

Metricgoogle logoGemma 3 27Bmeta-llama logoLlama 3.2 3B Instruct
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Max output118K tokens118K tokens
Input typesImage, TextText
Output typesTextText
Reasoning effort levelsNot availableNot available
Default reasoning effortNot availableNot available
Release dateMarch 12, 2025September 25, 2024

Features

Supported features

API features available for each model.

Metricgoogle logoGemma 3 27Bmeta-llama logoLlama 3.2 3B Instruct
Tool callingSupportedNot supported
Structured outputsSupportedSupported
JSON modeSupportedNot supported
ReasoningNot supportedNot supported
TemperatureSupportedSupported
Stop sequencesSupportedSupported
Deterministic seedSupportedSupported
Verbosity controlNot supportedNot supported

Our take

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 1.5x cheaper for a typical chat. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (5.7 vs 4.9). 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 27B or Llama 3.2 3B Instruct cheaper?

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Llama 3.2 3B Instruct costs $0.05 per 1M input tokens and $0.33 per 1M output tokens, while Gemma 3 27B costs $0.08 per 1M input tokens and $0.45 per 1M output tokens.

Which has a bigger context window, Gemma 3 27B or Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Gemma 3 27B supports up to 131K tokens of context, compared with 131K for Llama 3.2 3B Instruct.

Is Gemma 3 27B smarter than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Gemma 3 27B scores 4.9 and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct scores 5.7, putting Llama 3.2 3B Instruct ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.

Can I use Gemma 3 27B and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct at the same time?

Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Gemma 3 27B and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct answer side by side and keep the better response.

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Why choose? Ask both.

Send one prompt to Gemma 3 27B and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.