Gemma 3 1B Instruct vs Qwen3 1.7B (instruct)
Wins 0 of 2 areas
—
Wins 2 of 2 areas
Reasoning · Following instructions
Qwen3 1.7B (instruct) is the stronger all-rounder.
Scores updated · 16 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the two 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.
Reasoning and following instructions rest on a single test each.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where Qwen3 1.7B (instruct) pulls ahead
- Graduate-level biology, physics and chemistry questionsGPQA Diamond+11.2points ahead
- Follows unfamiliar, precisely checkable instructionsIFBench+1.4points ahead
Where Gemma 3 1B Instruct pulls ahead
No clear win on a test scored out of 100.
Every test, side by side
All 16 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
ReasoningQwen3 1.7B (instruct)
- GPQA DiamondQwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 11.223.734.9+11.2
Following instructionsQwen3 1.7B (instruct)
- IFBenchQwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 1.419.921.3+1.4
Other results14 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.
- J-MATH500Qwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 40.815.656.4+40.8
- J-BFCLv3Qwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 35.217.352.5+35.2
- BFCL v3Qwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 29.716.646.3+29.7
- GSM8KGemma 3 1B Instruct by 29.162.833.7+29.1
- MMLU-ProQwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 28.214.742.9+28.2
- Avg.Qwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 26.624.651.2+26.6
- MATH-500 (EM)Qwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 25.245.270.4+25.2
- JHumanEval+Qwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 22.62547.6+22.6
- Domain AvgQwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 20.923.944.8+20.9
- JMMLU-ProXQwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 16.714.130.8+16.7
- JMMLUQwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 13.234.547.7+13.2
- J-GSM8KQwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 12.433.646+12.4
- IFEvalGemma 3 1B Instruct by 6.580.273.7+6.5
- JGPQAQwen3 1.7B (instruct) by 2.124.226.3+2.1
Questions people ask
Which is better, Gemma 3 1B Instruct or Qwen3 1.7B (instruct)?
Qwen3 1.7B (instruct) wins all two areas where both have results: reasoning and following instructions. Gemma 3 1B Instruct wins none.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 16 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 2 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 14 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.