Gemma 3 27B vs Qwen3 8B
Wins 2 of 6 areas
Coding · Long documents
Wins 4 of 6 areas
Agents · Reasoning · Facts · Following instructions
Qwen3 8B is the stronger all-rounder.Gemma 3 27B is cheaper and better at coding.
Scores updated · 23 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the six 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.
- FactsGetting facts right instead of making them up02Qwen3 8B2 of 3 tests · 1 tie
- AgentsCarrying out multi-step tasks on its own01Qwen3 8B1 of 3 tests · 2 ties
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking01Qwen3 8B1 of 3 tests · 2 ties
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked01Qwen3 8B1 of 1 test
- CodingWriting and fixing software21Gemma 3 27B2 of 3 tests
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts10Gemma 3 27B1 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 27B 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 Qwen3 8B pulls ahead
- Graduate-level biology, physics and chemistry questionsGPQA Diamond+16.1points ahead
- Code for real scientific research problemsSciCode+4.6points ahead
- Customer-service tasks in a simulated bankτ-Bench V3 · Banking+3.9points ahead
Where Gemma 3 27B pulls ahead
- Command-line tasks in a real terminalTerminal-Bench 2.1+2.3points ahead
- Hard command-line tasks in a real terminalTerminal-Bench Hard+1.5points ahead
Every test, side by side
All 23 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingGemma 3 27B
- SciCodeQwen3 8B by 4.623.327.9+4.6
- Terminal-Bench 2.1Gemma 3 27B by 2.34.52.2+2.3
- Terminal-Bench HardGemma 3 27B by 1.53.82.3+1.5
AgentsQwen3 8B
- τ-Bench V3 · BankingQwen3 8B by 3.90.84.7+3.9
- GDPValtie00tie
- Terminal-Bench 4.0tie00tie
ReasoningQwen3 8B
- GPQA DiamondQwen3 8B by 16.142.858.9+16.1
- Humanity's Last Examtie4.43.9tie
- CritPttie00tie
FactsQwen3 8B
- Vectara HHEM hallucination ratelower is betterQwen3 8B by 2.67.44.8+2.6
- AA-Omniscience · Non-hallucinationQwen3 8B by 1.47.99.3+1.4
- AA-Omniscience · Accuracytie12.913.6tie
Other results9 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.
- τ²-Bench Telecom (AA run)Qwen3 8B by 17.310.527.8+17.3
- vectara_avg_summary_lengthGemma 3 27B by 12.896.483.6+12.8
- HumanEvalGemma 3 27B by 387.884.8+3
- MBPPQwen3 8B by 2.674.477+2.6
- vectara_factual_consistencyQwen3 8B by 2.692.695.2+2.6
- AA-OmniscienceQwen3 8B by 2.5-67.2-64.7+2.5
- AA IntelligenceQwen3 8B by 2.44.97.3+2.4
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexGemma 3 27B by 1.110.19+1.1
- vectara_answer_rateQwen3 8B by 1.198.899.9+1.1
Questions people ask
Which is better, Gemma 3 27B or Qwen3 8B?
Qwen3 8B wins four of the six areas where both have results: agents, reasoning, facts and following instructions. Gemma 3 27B wins coding and long documents, and costs 73% less.
Which is better for coding?
Gemma 3 27B. It wins 2 of the 3 coding tests both models report; Qwen3 8B wins 1.
Which is cheaper?
Gemma 3 27B costs $0.08 per million input tokens and $0.16 per million output tokens; Qwen3 8B costs $0.18 and $0.70. That makes Gemma 3 27B about 73% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 23 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 14 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 9 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.