Gemini 2.5 Pro vs Gemma 3 12B
Wins 7 of 7 areas
Coding · Agents · Reasoning · Facts · Images and charts · Long documents · Following instructions
Wins 0 of 7 areas
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Gemini 2.5 Pro is the stronger all-rounder.Gemma 3 12B is cheaper.
Scores updated · 29 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the seven areas where both have results. Each piece is one test, so a longer bar means more evidence; grey means the two scored within a point of each other.
- CodingWriting and fixing software30Gemini 2.5 Pro3 of 3 tests
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking30Gemini 2.5 Pro3 of 3 tests
- Images and chartsUnderstanding pictures, charts and video30Gemini 2.5 Pro3 of 3 tests
- AgentsCarrying out multi-step tasks on its own10Gemini 2.5 Pro1 of 3 tests · 2 ties
- FactsGetting facts right instead of making them up21Gemini 2.5 Pro2 of 3 tests
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts10Gemini 2.5 Pro1 of 1 test
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked10Gemini 2.5 Pro1 of 1 test
Long documents and following instructions rest on a single test each.
What it costs
Prices per million tokens, roughly 750,000 words. The bars show the cost of a million tokens read plus a million written.
Gemma 3 12B costs 98% less for the same work.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where Gemini 2.5 Pro pulls ahead
- Reasons across sets of long documentsAA-LCR+60.7points ahead
- Graduate-level biology, physics and chemistry questionsGPQA Diamond+48.7points ahead
- Harder college exam questions with imagesMMMU-Pro+37.4points ahead
Where Gemma 3 12B pulls ahead
No clear win on a test scored out of 100.
Every test, side by side
All 29 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingGemini 2.5 Pro
- SciCodeGemini 2.5 Pro by 29.946.316.4+29.9
- Terminal-Bench 2.1Gemini 2.5 Pro by 28.528.50+28.5
- Terminal-Bench HardGemini 2.5 Pro by 25.726.50.8+25.7
AgentsGemini 2.5 Pro
- τ-Bench V3 · BankingGemini 2.5 Pro by 8.99.70.8+8.9
- GDPValtie00tie
- Terminal-Bench 4.0tie00tie
ReasoningGemini 2.5 Pro
- GPQA DiamondGemini 2.5 Pro by 48.783.634.9+48.7
- Humanity's Last ExamGemini 2.5 Pro by 13.8184.2+13.8
- CritPtGemini 2.5 Pro by 2.62.60+2.6
FactsGemini 2.5 Pro
- AA-Omniscience · AccuracyGemini 2.5 Pro by 28.83910.3+28.8
- AA-Omniscience · Non-hallucinationGemini 2.5 Pro by 6.59.12.6+6.5
- Vectara HHEM hallucination ratelower is betterGemma 3 12B by 2.674.4+2.6
Images and chartsGemini 2.5 Pro
Following instructionsGemini 2.5 Pro
- IFBenchGemini 2.5 Pro by 1248.736.7+12
Other results12 tests, not counted
Tests outside the eight areas. They are not counted above: several are summary scores built from other tests, or the same test under another name.
- AA-OmniscienceGemini 2.5 Pro by 60.8-16.4-77.1+60.8
- LiveCodeBenchGemini 2.5 Pro by 49.674.224.6+49.6
- SimpleQAGemini 2.5 Pro by 44.550.86.3+44.5
- τ²-Bench Telecom (AA run)Gemini 2.5 Pro by 43.354.110.8+43.3
- MATH-VisionGemini 2.5 Pro by 41.273.332.1+41.2
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexGemini 2.5 Pro by 40.946.75.8+40.9
- MMLU-ProGemini 2.5 Pro by 25.48660.6+25.4
- Global-MMLU-LiteGemini 2.5 Pro by 19.188.669.5+19.1
- AA IntelligenceGemini 2.5 Pro by 11.2153.8+11.2
- vectara_factual_consistencyGemma 3 12B by 2.69395.6+2.6
- vectara_answer_rateGemini 2.5 Pro by 1.799.197.4+1.7
- vectara_avg_summary_lengthGemini 2.5 Pro by 16.7 rating points106.489.7+16.7 rating
Questions people ask
Which is better, Gemini 2.5 Pro or Gemma 3 12B?
Gemini 2.5 Pro wins all seven areas where both have results: coding, agents, reasoning, facts, images and charts, long documents and following instructions. Gemma 3 12B wins none, but costs 98% less.
Which is better for coding?
Gemini 2.5 Pro. It wins 3 of the 3 coding tests both models report; Gemma 3 12B wins none.
Which is cheaper?
Gemini 2.5 Pro costs $1.25 per million input tokens and $10.00 per million output tokens; Gemma 3 12B costs $0.05 and $0.15. That makes Gemma 3 12B about 98% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 29 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 17 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 12 are listed but not counted, because several are summary scores or repeat a test. Each score is the one shown on the model's own page.