Gemma 4 12B vs Gemma 4 E2B
Wins 7 of 8 areas
Coding · Agents · Reasoning · Images and charts · Math · Long documents · Following instructions
Wins 0 of 8 areas
—
Gemma 4 12B is the stronger all-rounder.
Scores updated · 31 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the eight areas we test. 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 software30Gemma 4 12B3 of 3 tests
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking20Gemma 4 12B2 of 3 tests · 1 tie
- Images and chartsUnderstanding pictures, charts and video20Gemma 4 12B2 of 2 tests
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts20Gemma 4 12B2 of 2 tests
- AgentsCarrying out multi-step tasks on its own10Gemma 4 12B1 of 2 tests · 1 tie
- MathCompetition and research-level math10Gemma 4 12B1 of 1 test
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked10Gemma 4 12B1 of 1 test
- FactsGetting facts right instead of making them up11Even1 each
Math 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.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where Gemma 4 12B pulls ahead
Where Gemma 4 E2B pulls ahead
- Avoids making up answers it doesn't knowAA-Omniscience · Non-hallucination+48.6points ahead
Every test, side by side
All 31 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingGemma 4 12B
- LiveCodeBench v6Gemma 4 12B by 287244+28
- SciCodeGemma 4 12B by 17.338.220.9+17.3
- Terminal-Bench HardGemma 4 12B by 15.218.23+15.2
ReasoningGemma 4 12B
- GPQA DiamondGemma 4 12B by 3275.343.3+32
- Humanity's Last ExamGemma 4 12B by 10.915.74.8+10.9
- CritPttie00tie
FactsEven
- AA-Omniscience · Non-hallucinationGemma 4 E2B by 48.61967.6+48.6
- AA-Omniscience · AccuracyGemma 4 12B by 915.66.6+9
Images and chartsGemma 4 12B
- MMMU-ProGemma 4 12B by 25.169.744.6+25.1
- OCRBenchv2Gemma 4 12B by 7.151.844.7+7.1
Long documentsGemma 4 12B
- AA-LCRGemma 4 12B by 47.463.716.3+47.4
- MRCR v2 8 needle 128k (average)Gemma 4 12B by 24.343.419.1+24.3
Following instructionsGemma 4 12B
- IFBenchGemma 4 12B by 35.573.538+35.5
Other results15 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.
- Codeforces ELOGemma 4 12B by 1026 rating points1659633+1026 rating
- τ²-BenchGemma 4 12B by 44.56924.5+44.5
- BIG-Bench Extra HardGemma 4 12B by 31.15321.9+31.1
- AA-OmniscienceGemma 4 E2B by 29.1-52.7-23.6+29.1
- MATH-VisionGemma 4 12B by 27.379.752.4+27.3
- MedXPertQA MMGemma 4 12B by 25.248.723.5+25.2
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexGemma 4 12B by 23.8317.2+23.8
- MMLU-ProGemma 4 12B by 17.277.260+17.2
- MMMLUGemma 4 12B by 1683.467.4+16
- τ²-Bench Telecom (AA run)Gemma 4 12B by 15.536.320.8+15.5
- AA Agentic IndexGemma 4 12B by 6.47.91.5+6.4
- AA IntelligenceGemma 4 12B by 6.414.27.8+6.4
- CoVoSTGemma 4 12B by 538.533.5+5
- OmniDocBench 1.5 (average edit distance, lower is better)lower is bettertie0.20.3tie
- FLEURS (lower is better)lower is bettertie0.10.1tie
Questions people ask
Which is better, Gemma 4 12B or Gemma 4 E2B?
Gemma 4 12B wins seven of the eight areas we test: coding, agents, reasoning, images and charts, math, long documents and following instructions. Gemma 4 E2B wins none. They are level on facts.
Which is better for coding?
Gemma 4 12B. It wins 3 of the 3 coding tests both models report; Gemma 4 E2B wins none.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 31 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 16 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 15 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.