Model comparison
DeepSeek V4 Flash Base vs Gemma 4 12B
Head-to-head evidence from 3 shared benchmark results across 2 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V4 Flash Base unranked (Not scored); Gemma 4 12B #137 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. DeepSeek V4 Flash Base and Gemma 4 12B share 3 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 21 results are unique to DeepSeek V4 Flash Base; 20 to Gemma 4 12B.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 3
- DeepSeek V4 Flash Base only
- 21
- Gemma 4 12B only
- 20
- Comparable categories
- 2 / 8
Treat this as a split decision. DeepSeek V4 Flash Base makes more sense if reasoning is the priority or you need the larger 1M context window; Gemma 4 12B is the better fit if knowledge is the priority or you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 3 shared benchmark results across 2 evidence categories; 2 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
DeepSeek V4 Flash Base and Gemma 4 12B finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.
Gemma 4 12B is the reasoning model in the pair, while DeepSeek V4 Flash Base 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. DeepSeek V4 Flash Base gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for Gemma 4 12B.
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 V4 Flash Base | Δ | Gemma 4 12B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base56.4 | Margin→ 21.1 | Gemma 4 12B77.5 |
| Reasoning | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base44.7 | Margin← 1.3 | Gemma 4 12B43.4 |
| Math | DeepSeek V4 Flash BaseNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Gemma 4 12B77.5 |
| Multimodal | DeepSeek V4 Flash BaseNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Gemma 4 12B69.1 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
MMLU-Pro
KnowledgeA 68.3%B 77.2%Winner: Gemma 4 12BΔ 8.9MMLU-Pro: DeepSeek V4 Flash Base scored 68.3%; Gemma 4 12B scored 77.2%. Gemma 4 12B wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base | Gemma 4 12B | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | DeepSeek V4 Flash BaseNot available | Gemma 4 12BNot available | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | DeepSeek V4 Flash BaseNot available | Gemma 4 12BNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | DeepSeek V4 Flash BaseNot available | Gemma 4 12BNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base1M | Gemma 4 12B256K | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-bench resultsSource | — | 36.3% | Not comparable |
Coding3 benchmarks
ReasoningDeepSeek V4 Flash Base wins9 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| BBHSource | 86.9% | 53% | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base leads |
| DROPSource | 88.6% | — | Not comparable |
| HellaSwagSource | 85.7% | — | Not comparable |
| WinoGrandeSource | 79.5% | — | Not comparable |
| CLUEWSCSource | 82.2% | — | Not comparable |
| LongBench v2Source | 44.7% | — | Not comparable |
| MRCRv2Source | — | 43.4% | Not comparable |
| AA-LCRSource | — | 55.3% | Not comparable |
| CritPtSource | — | 0.0% | Not comparable |
KnowledgeGemma 4 12B wins21 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AGIEvalSource | 82.6% | — | Not comparable |
| MMLUSource | 88.7% | — | Not comparable |
| MMLU-ReduxSource | 89.4% | — | Not comparable |
| MMLU-ProSource | 68.3% | 77.2% | Gemma 4 12B leads |
| MMMLUSource | 88.8% | 83.4% | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base leads |
| C-EvalSource | 92.1% | — | Not comparable |
| CMMLUSource | 90.4% | — | Not comparable |
| MultiLoKoSource | 42.2% | — | Not comparable |
| SimpleQASource | 30.1% | — | Not comparable |
| SuperGPQASource | 46.5% | — | Not comparable |
| FACTS ParametricSource | 33.9% | — | Not comparable |
| TriviaQASource | 82.8% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQASource | — | 78.8% | Not comparable |
| GPQA-DSource | — | 78.8% | Not comparable |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | — | 5.2% | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | — | 22.0% | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | — | 75.3% | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | — | 14.8% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | — | -51.9% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | — | 16.0% | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | — | 80.8% | Not comparable |
Math4 benchmarks
Multilingual1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MGSMSource | 85.7% | — | Not comparable |
Multimodal4 benchmarks
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash Base | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | — | 73.5% | Not comparable |
Frequently Asked Questions (3)
Which is better, DeepSeek V4 Flash Base or Gemma 4 12B?
DeepSeek V4 Flash Base and Gemma 4 12B are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash Base or Gemma 4 12B?
Gemma 4 12B has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 77.5 versus 56.4. Inside this category, MMLU-Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for reasoning, DeepSeek V4 Flash Base or Gemma 4 12B?
DeepSeek V4 Flash Base has the edge for reasoning in this comparison, averaging 44.7 versus 43.4. Inside this category, BBH is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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