Model comparison
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite vs Gemma 4 12B
Head-to-head evidence from 12 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite #111 (Supported); Gemma 4 12B #137 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite and Gemma 4 12B share 12 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 8 results are unique to Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite; 11 to Gemma 4 12B.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 12
- Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite only
- 8
- Gemma 4 12B only
- 11
- Comparable categories
- 1 / 8
Pick Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Gemma 4 12B only becomes the better choice if you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 12 shared benchmark results across 6 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
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 50.83 to 47.29. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite's sharpest advantage is in multimodal & grounded, where it averages 73.2 against 69.1.
Gemma 4 12B is the reasoning model in the pair, while Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite 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. Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite 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 | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | Δ | Gemma 4 12B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multimodal | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite73.2 | Margin← 4.1 | Gemma 4 12B69.1 |
| Reasoning | Gemini 3.1 Flash-LiteNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Gemma 4 12B43.4 |
| Knowledge | Gemini 3.1 Flash-LiteNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Gemma 4 12B77.5 |
| Math | Gemini 3.1 Flash-LiteNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Gemma 4 12B77.5 |
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | Gemma 4 12B | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite$0.25 input / $1.5 output | Gemma 4 12BNot available | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite205 tok/s | Gemma 4 12BNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite7.50 s | Gemma 4 12BNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite1M | Gemma 4 12B256K | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic6 benchmarks
Coding3 benchmarks
Reasoning4 benchmarks
Knowledge11 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 25.0% | 22.0% | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 82.2% | 75.3% | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads |
| AA-HLESource | 16.2% | 14.8% | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -15.5% | -51.9% | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 36.4% | 16.0% | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 81.6% | 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 |
Math1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME26Source | — | 77.5% | Not comparable |
MultimodalGemini 3.1 Flash-Lite wins5 benchmarks
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | Gemma 4 12B | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 77.2% | 73.5% | Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite leads |
Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Which is better, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite or Gemma 4 12B?
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 50.83 to 47.29.
Which is better for multimodal and grounded tasks, Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite or Gemma 4 12B?
Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 73.2 versus 69.1. Inside this category, AA-MMMU-Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Related Comparisons
Explore More
Choose a model with this week’s evidence
Join 2,000+ readers for ranking moves, pricing changes, and the claims that still need proof.
One email each week. Unsubscribe anytime.