Gemma 4 12B vs Gemma 4 26B A4B
At a Glance
| Compare |  Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | Gemma 4 26B A4BGoogle DeepMind |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v4.4 | UnrankedNot in the 57-model eligible cohort | #26 of 5747.4 score · 1/3 sources · single-source provisional · missing LiveBench, ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 15.8–82.5 |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | Not reported | $0.070Deepinfra ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | Not reported | $0.30Openrouter ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 262K | 262K |
| Model facts checked | Sep 3, 2026View model evidence → | Sep 3, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | Gemma 4 12B | Gemma 4 26B-A4B |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Google DeepMind | Google DeepMind |
| Family | Gemma 4 | Gemma 4 |
| Model | Gemma 4 12B | Gemma 4 26B-A4B |
| Version | Gemma 4 12B | Gemma 4 26B-A4B |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-05-23 | 2026-03-11 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image, Video, Audio | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 262K | 262K |
| Total parameters | 12B | 26B |
| Active parameters | Unknown | 4B |
| License | apache-2.0 | apache-2.0 |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Together Ai (Standard) | Deepinfra (Standard), Google Gemini (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools |
Gemma 4 12B Capabilities
Gemma 4 26B A4B Capabilities
Related Comparisons
All image comparisons →| A | Pair | B | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
Claude Opus 4.5Anthropic | vs | Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs | Gemma 4 31BGoogle DeepMind | family variantsimage, text |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs | Gemma 4 E2BGoogle DeepMind | family variantsaudio, image, text, video |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs | Gemma 4 E4BGoogle DeepMind | family variantsaudio, image, text, video |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs | cross-developer peerstext | |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs | cross-developer peerstext | |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs |  Muse Spark 1.2Meta | cross-developer peersaudio, image, text, video |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs |  Ministral-3-14B-Base-2512Mistral AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs | Ministral-3-14B-Instruct-2512Mistral AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs | Ministral-3-14B-Reasoning-2512Mistral AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind | vs | Ministral-3-3B-Instruct-2512Mistral AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Gemma 4 12B vs Gemma 4 26B A4B FAQs
Is Gemma 4 12B or Gemma 4 26B A4B better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Gemma 4 12B and Gemma 4 26B A4B, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 4 12B or Gemma 4 26B A4B?+
Only Gemma 4 26B A4B has a directly sourced input price: $0.070 per million tokens. Only Gemma 4 26B A4B has a directly sourced output price: $0.30 per million tokens.
Which has a larger context window, Gemma 4 12B or Gemma 4 26B A4B?+
Both models have the same sourced context window: 262,144 tokens each.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Gemma 4 12B or Gemma 4 26B A4B?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can Gemma 4 12B or Gemma 4 26B A4B be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same sourced self-hosting status: supported. Gemma 4 12B is open weight; Gemma 4 26B A4B is open weight.
Can Gemma 4 12B and Gemma 4 26B A4B understand images?+
Gemma 4 12B is documented with image input; Gemma 4 26B A4B is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Gemma 4 12B or Gemma 4 26B A4B?+
Neither model has a sourced maximum output in this comparison, so a larger limit cannot be determined.
Do Gemma 4 12B and Gemma 4 26B A4B support reasoning and tool use?+
Gemma 4 12B: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Gemma 4 26B A4B: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Gemma 4 12B or Gemma 4 26B A4B?+
Gemma 4 12B has 1 sourced provider route; Gemma 4 26B A4B has 4, so Gemma 4 26B A4B has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Gemma 4 12B or Gemma 4 26B A4B?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.