Model comparison
Gemma 4 12B vs GPT-5.5
Head-to-head evidence from 16 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Gemma 4 12B #137 (Estimated); GPT-5.5 #9 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Gemma 4 12B and GPT-5.5 share 16 comparable benchmark results. 4 of 8 categories are comparable. 7 results are unique to Gemma 4 12B; 41 to GPT-5.5.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 16
- Gemma 4 12B only
- 7
- GPT-5.5 only
- 41
- Comparable categories
- 4 / 8
Pick GPT-5.5 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Gemma 4 12B only becomes the better choice if mathematics is the priority.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 16 shared benchmark results across 6 evidence categories; 4 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
GPT-5.5 is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 73.51 to 47.29. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
GPT-5.5's sharpest advantage is in reasoning, where it averages 85 against 43.4. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is GPQA, 78.8% to 93.6%. Gemma 4 12B does hit back in mathematics, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.
GPT-5.5 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 | Gemma 4 12B | Δ | GPT-5.5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reasoning | Gemma 4 12B43.4 | Margin→ 41.6 | GPT-5.585.0 |
| Math | Gemma 4 12B77.5 | Margin← 29.9 | GPT-5.547.6 |
| Knowledge | Gemma 4 12B77.5 | Margin← 19.7 | GPT-5.557.8 |
| Multimodal | Gemma 4 12B69.1 | Margin→ 1.3 | GPT-5.570.4 |
| Agentic | Gemma 4 12BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-5.581.6 |
| Coding | Gemma 4 12BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | GPT-5.558.6 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Gemma 4 12B | GPT-5.5 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Gemma 4 12BNot available | GPT-5.5$5 input / $30 output | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Gemma 4 12BNot available | GPT-5.5Not available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Gemma 4 12BNot available | GPT-5.5Not available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Gemma 4 12B256K | GPT-5.51M | GPT-5.5 lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic24 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | GPT-5.5 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 36.3% | 93.9% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | — | 82% | Not comparable |
| CyberGymSource | — | 81.8% | Not comparable |
| BrowseCompSource | — | 84.4% | Not comparable |
| OSWorld-VerifiedSource | — | 78.7% | Not comparable |
| MCP AtlasSource | — | 75.3% | Not comparable |
| ToolathlonSource | — | 55.6% | Not comparable |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | — | 44.9% | Not comparable |
| APEX-Agents-AASource | — | 37.7% | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 49.5% | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 1490 | Not comparable |
| Gert LabsSource | — | 72.93% | Not comparable |
| ResearchClawBenchSource | — | 17.0% | Not comparable |
| OSWorld 2.0Source | — | 13.0% | Not comparable |
| JobBenchSource | — | 42.7% | Not comparable |
| ExploitGymSource | — | 13.4% | Not comparable |
| AA BriefcaseSource | — | 1154 | Not comparable |
| AA AutomationBenchSource | — | 42.1% | Not comparable |
| AA EnterpriseOps-GymSource | — | 46.6% | Not comparable |
| AA Harvey LABSource | — | 86.3% | Not comparable |
| AA ITBenchSource | — | 45.8% | Not comparable |
| AA Tau3 BankingSource | — | 31.3% | Not comparable |
| terminalBenchHardSource | — | 60.6% | Not comparable |
| aaTerminalBench21Source | — | 84.3% | Not comparable |
Coding9 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | GPT-5.5 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-SciCodeSource | 38.2% | 56.1% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| SWE-bench ProSource | — | 58.6% | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | — | 82.0% | Not comparable |
| Vibe Code BenchSource | — | 69.85% | Not comparable |
| React Native EvalsSource | — | 84.7% | Not comparable |
| cursorBench31Source | — | 59.2% | Not comparable |
| cursorBench32Source | — | 58.4% | Not comparable |
| AA Coding IndexSource | — | 74.9% | Not comparable |
| FrontierCode 1.1 MainSource | — | 43.0% | Not comparable |
ReasoningGPT-5.5 wins7 benchmarks
KnowledgeGemma 4 12B wins12 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | GPT-5.5 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 78.8% | 93.6% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| GPQA-DSource | 78.8% | 93.6% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| MMLU-ProSource | 77.2% | — | Not comparable |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | 5.2% | 41.4% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| MMMLUSource | 83.4% | — | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 22.0% | 54.8% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 75.3% | 93.5% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| AA-HLESource | 14.8% | 44.3% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -51.9% | 20.1% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 16.0% | 56.9% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 80.8% | 85.5% | Gemma 4 12B leads |
| HLESource | — | 52.2% | Not comparable |
MathGemma 4 12B wins4 benchmarks
MultimodalGPT-5.5 wins7 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | GPT-5.5 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMMU-ProSource | 69.1% | 81.2% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| MathVisionSource | 79.7% | — | Not comparable |
| MedXpertQA (MM)Source | 48.7% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-MMMU-ProSource | 69.7% | 79.9% | GPT-5.5 leads |
| MMMU-Pro w/ PythonSource | — | 83.2% | Not comparable |
| OfficeQA ProSource | — | 54.1% | Not comparable |
| Design Arena WebsiteSource | — | 1282 | Not comparable |
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | GPT-5.5 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 73.5% | 75.9% | GPT-5.5 leads |
Frequently Asked Questions (5)
Which is better, Gemma 4 12B or GPT-5.5?
GPT-5.5 is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 73.51 to 47.29. The biggest single separator in this matchup is GPQA, where the scores are 78.8% and 93.6%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Gemma 4 12B or GPT-5.5?
Gemma 4 12B has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 77.5 versus 57.8. Inside this category, AA-Omniscience Index is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for math, Gemma 4 12B or GPT-5.5?
Gemma 4 12B has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 77.5 versus 47.6. GPT-5.5 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
Which is better for reasoning, Gemma 4 12B or GPT-5.5?
GPT-5.5 has the edge for reasoning in this comparison, averaging 85 versus 43.4. Inside this category, CritPt is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for multimodal and grounded tasks, Gemma 4 12B or GPT-5.5?
GPT-5.5 has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 70.4 versus 69.1. Inside this category, 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.