Gemma 3 12B vs GPT-4o mini
Wins 1 of 5 areas
Following instructions
Wins 3 of 5 areas
Coding · Agents · Reasoning
GPT-4o mini is the stronger all-rounder.Gemma 3 12B is cheaper and better at following instructions.
Scores updated · 35 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the five 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 software02GPT-4o mini2 of 2 tests
- AgentsCarrying out multi-step tasks on its own01GPT-4o mini1 of 2 tests · 1 tie
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking01GPT-4o mini1 of 2 tests · 1 tie
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked10Gemma 3 12B1 of 1 test
- Images and chartsUnderstanding pictures, charts and video11Even1 each · 1 tie
Following instructions rests on a single test.
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 73% 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 GPT-4o mini pulls ahead
- Graduate-level biology, physics and chemistry questionsGPQA Diamond+7.7points ahead
- Code for real scientific research problemsSciCode+6.5points ahead
- Harder college exam questions with imagesMMMU-Pro+4points ahead
Every test, side by side
All 35 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingGPT-4o mini
- SciCodeGPT-4o mini by 6.516.422.9+6.5
- Terminal-Bench 2.1GPT-4o mini by 5.605.6+5.6
ReasoningGPT-4o mini
- GPQA DiamondGPT-4o mini by 7.734.942.6+7.7
- Humanity's Last Examtie4.24.2tie
Images and chartsEven
Following instructionsGemma 3 12B
- IFBenchGemma 3 12B by 5.736.731+5.7
Other results25 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.
- InfoVQA (Acc)GPT-4o mini by 14.143.857.9+14.1
- MBPPGPT-4o mini by 11.87384.8+11.8
- LiveCodeBenchGPT-4o mini by 10.924.635.5+10.9
- GSM8KGemma 3 12B by 10.194.484.3+10.1
- AI2DGemma 3 12B by 984.275.2+9
- OCRBench (Acc)GPT-4o mini by 83 rating points702785+83 rating
- RealWorldQA (Acc)GPT-4o mini by 859.167.1+8
- MMLongBench-DOC (Acc)GPT-4o mini by 7.721.329+7.7
- MMMU (val) (Pass@1)Gemma 3 12B by 7.559.652.1+7.5
- VideoMME (w sub.)GPT-4o mini by 6.862.168.9+6.8
- LongVideoBench (val)GPT-4o mini by 6.751.558.2+6.7
- Video-MME (w/o sub.)GPT-4o mini by 6.658.264.8+6.6
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexGPT-4o mini by 5.65.811.4+5.6
- MMVU-Val (Pass@1)GPT-4o mini by 4.65761.6+4.6
- MLVU-MCQ (Acc)Gemma 3 12B by 4.252.348.1+4.2
- SimpleQAGPT-4o mini by 3.66.39.9+3.6
- BLINK (Acc)GPT-4o mini by 3.350.353.6+3.3
- AA IntelligenceGPT-4o mini by 2.93.86.7+2.9
- MMBench-EN-v1.1 (Acc)GPT-4o mini by 2.574.677.1+2.5
- MMVet (Pass@1)GPT-4o mini by 264.966.9+2
- HumanEvalGPT-4o mini by 1.885.487.2+1.8
- MMStar (Acc)Gemma 3 12B by 1.356.154.8+1.3
- MMLU-ProGPT-4o mini by 1.160.661.7+1.1
- AI2D (Acc)tie78.177.8tie
- TOMATOtie28.628.8tie
Questions people ask
Which is better, Gemma 3 12B or GPT-4o mini?
GPT-4o mini wins three of the five areas where both have results: coding, agents and reasoning. Gemma 3 12B wins following instructions, and costs 73% less. They are level on images and charts.
Which is better for coding?
GPT-4o mini. It wins 2 of the 2 coding tests both models report; Gemma 3 12B wins none.
Which is cheaper?
Gemma 3 12B costs $0.05 per million input tokens and $0.15 per million output tokens; GPT-4o mini costs $0.15 and $0.60. That makes Gemma 3 12B about 73% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 35 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 10 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 25 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.