Model comparison
DeepSeek V3.2 vs Gemma 4 12B
Head-to-head evidence from 11 shared benchmark results across 5 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V3.2 #82 (Supported); Gemma 4 12B #137 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. DeepSeek V3.2 and Gemma 4 12B share 11 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 8 results are unique to DeepSeek V3.2; 12 to Gemma 4 12B.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 11
- DeepSeek V3.2 only
- 8
- Gemma 4 12B only
- 12
- Comparable categories
- 1 / 8
Pick DeepSeek V3.2 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Gemma 4 12B only becomes the better choice if mathematics is the priority or you need the larger 256K context window.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 11 shared benchmark results across 5 evidence categories; 1 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
DeepSeek V3.2 is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 55.4 to 47.29. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Gemma 4 12B is the reasoning model in the pair, while DeepSeek V3.2 is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. Gemma 4 12B gives you the larger context window at 256K, compared with 128K for DeepSeek V3.2.
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | DeepSeek V3.2 | Δ | Gemma 4 12B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | DeepSeek V3.217.1 | Margin→ 60.4 | Gemma 4 12B77.5 |
| Coding | DeepSeek V3.260.9 | MarginNo overlap | Gemma 4 12BNot measured |
| Reasoning | DeepSeek V3.2Not measured | MarginNo overlap | Gemma 4 12B43.4 |
| Knowledge | DeepSeek V3.2Not measured | MarginNo overlap | Gemma 4 12B77.5 |
| Multimodal | DeepSeek V3.2Not measured | MarginNo overlap | Gemma 4 12B69.1 |
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | DeepSeek V3.2 | Gemma 4 12B | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | DeepSeek V3.2$0.28 input / $0.42 output | Gemma 4 12BNot available | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | DeepSeek V3.235 tok/s | Gemma 4 12BNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | DeepSeek V3.23.75 s | Gemma 4 12BNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | DeepSeek V3.2128K | Gemma 4 12B256K | Gemma 4 12B lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic4 benchmarks
Coding3 benchmarks
Reasoning4 benchmarks
Knowledge11 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3.2 | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 24.7% | 22.0% | DeepSeek V3.2 leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 75.1% | 75.3% | Gemma 4 12B leads |
| AA-HLESource | 10.5% | 14.8% | Gemma 4 12B leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -46.7% | -51.9% | DeepSeek V3.2 leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 24.2% | 16.0% | DeepSeek V3.2 leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 93.5% | 80.8% | Gemma 4 12B leads |
| GPQASource | — | 78.8% | Not comparable |
| GPQA-DSource | — | 78.8% | Not comparable |
| MMLU-ProSource | — | 77.2% | Not comparable |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | — | 5.2% | Not comparable |
| MMMLUSource | — | 83.4% | Not comparable |
MathGemma 4 12B wins3 benchmarks
Multimodal5 benchmarks
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V3.2 | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 49.0% | 73.5% | Gemma 4 12B leads |
Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Which is better, DeepSeek V3.2 or Gemma 4 12B?
DeepSeek V3.2 is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 55.4 to 47.29.
Which is better for math, DeepSeek V3.2 or Gemma 4 12B?
Gemma 4 12B has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 77.5 versus 17.1. DeepSeek V3.2 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
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