Gemma 4 12B vs Kimi K2 Thinking
At a Glance
| Compare |  Gemma 4 12BGoogle DeepMind |  Kimi K2 ThinkingMoonshot AI |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | Not reported | $0.60Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | Not reported | $2.50Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 262K | 262K |
| Model facts checked | Sep 3, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 28, 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 | Kimi-K2-Thinking |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Google DeepMind | Moonshot AI |
| Family | Gemma 4 | Kimi K2 Thinking |
| Model | Gemma 4 12B | Kimi-K2-Thinking |
| Version | Gemma 4 12B | Kimi-K2-Thinking |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-05-23 | 2025-11-06 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image, Video, Audio | Text |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 262K | 262K |
| Total parameters | 12B | 1T |
| Active parameters | Unknown | 32B |
| License | apache-2.0 | other |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Together Ai (Standard) | Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools | chat, generation, reasoning, tools |
Gemma 4 12B Capabilities
Kimi K2 Thinking Capabilities
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Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Gemma 4 12B vs Kimi K2 Thinking FAQs
Is Gemma 4 12B or Kimi K2 Thinking better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Gemma 4 12B and Kimi K2 Thinking, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 4 12B or Kimi K2 Thinking?+
Only Kimi K2 Thinking has a directly sourced input price: $0.60 per million tokens. Only Kimi K2 Thinking has a directly sourced output price: $2.50 per million tokens.
Which has a larger context window, Gemma 4 12B or Kimi K2 Thinking?+
Neither model has a larger sourced context window in this comparison. Gemma 4 12B is 262K and Kimi K2 Thinking is 262K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Gemma 4 12B or Kimi K2 Thinking?+
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 Kimi K2 Thinking be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same recorded self-hosting status: supported. Gemma 4 12B is open weight; Kimi K2 Thinking is open weight.
Can Gemma 4 12B and Kimi K2 Thinking understand images?+
Gemma 4 12B is documented with image input; Kimi K2 Thinking is not documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Gemma 4 12B or Kimi K2 Thinking?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. Gemma 4 12B is — and Kimi K2 Thinking is 131K.
Do Gemma 4 12B and Kimi K2 Thinking support reasoning and tool use?+
Gemma 4 12B: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Kimi K2 Thinking: reasoning and tool calling. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Gemma 4 12B or Kimi K2 Thinking?+
Gemma 4 12B has 1 sourced provider route; Kimi K2 Thinking has 2, so Kimi K2 Thinking has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Gemma 4 12B or Kimi K2 Thinking?+
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.