Gemma 3 12B vs GPT-4o
API pricing, context window and capabilities for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-4o, side by side. Prices are the cheapest listed serving route per 1M tokens, from LiteLLM and OpenRouter.
Verdict
computed from the published numbersGemma 3 12B wins on price. GPT-4o wins on intelligence and on context window. Benchmark data is unavailable for one or both models.
Price
Gemma 3 12B
Terminal-Bench
Not called
Intelligence
GPT-4o
Context window
GPT-4o
Key takeaways
who wins on what, from the published numbersGemma 3 12B wins
- Cheaper input ($0.15 vs $2.50 /1M)
- Cheaper output ($0.50 vs $10.00 /1M)
- Higher max output (32K vs 16K)
GPT-4o wins
- Larger context window (128K vs 131K)
- More serving providers (1 vs 6)
- Supports vision
- Supports tool calls
- Supports audio
- Supports prompt caching
- Supports structured output
Cheaper overall
Gemma 3 12B
$0.15 + $0.50 /1M
Larger context
GPT-4o
131K
More providers
GPT-4o
6 providers
Pricing & specs
cheapest listed route · per 1M tokensOn-demand listed rates, OpenRouter routed quotes and Vercel reseller quotes. Enterprise commitments can be materially lower.
| Gemma 3 12B | GPT-4o | |
|---|---|---|
| Input $/1M | $0.15via Databricks best | $2.50via OpenAI |
| Output $/1M | $0.50via Databricks best | $10.00via OpenAI |
| Context window | 128K | 131K best |
| Max output | 32K best | 16K |
| Serving providers | 1 | 6 best |
| Date | Released Mar 13, 2025 | Released May 13, 2024 |
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores, side by side| Gemma 3 12B | GPT-4o | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 3.8 | 8.4 best |
| Terminal-Bench | 0% | Not available |
| GPQA Diamond | 35% | 54% best |
| Output speed | Not available | 150 t/s |
| Latency (TTFT) | Not available | 0.79s |
Cost calculator
choose a serving route for each sideInput tokens / month
Output tokens / month
Gemma 3 12B
via Databricks
$1.25
GPT-4o
via Gmi
$23
Capabilities
feature support, side by side| Feature | Gemma 3 12B | GPT-4o |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | — | ✓ |
| Tool use | — | ✓ |
| Reasoning | — | — |
| Audio | — | ✓ |
| Prompt caching | — | ✓ |
| Structured output | — | ✓ |
| Web search | — | — |
Related comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 12B or GPT-4o?
Gemma 3 12B is cheaper for input ($0.15 vs $2.50 per 1M tokens) from Databricks. Gemma 3 12B is cheaper for output ($0.50 vs $10.00 per 1M tokens) from Databricks.
What is the context window difference between Gemma 3 12B and GPT-4o?
Gemma 3 12B has a 128K-token context window and GPT-4o has 131K tokens, so GPT-4o can take a larger prompt.
How do Gemma 3 12B and GPT-4o compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, GPT-4o leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026
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