Model comparison
Gemma 4 12B vs Grok 4.3
Head-to-head evidence from 14 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); Grok 4.3 #31 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Gemma 4 12B and Grok 4.3 share 14 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 9 results are unique to Gemma 4 12B; 11 to Grok 4.3.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 14
- Gemma 4 12B only
- 9
- Grok 4.3 only
- 11
- Comparable categories
- 2 / 8
Pick Grok 4.3 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Gemma 4 12B only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 14 shared benchmark results across 6 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
Grok 4.3 is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 65.1 to 47.29. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Grok 4.3's sharpest advantage is in multimodal & grounded, where it averages 78.1 against 69.1. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is GPQA, 78.8% to 90.1%. Gemma 4 12B does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.
Grok 4.3 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 | Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Gemma 4 12B77.5 | Margin← 35.1 | Grok 4.342.4 |
| Multimodal | Gemma 4 12B69.1 | Margin→ 9.0 | Grok 4.378.1 |
| Coding | Gemma 4 12BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Grok 4.347.3 |
| Reasoning | Gemma 4 12B43.4 | MarginNo overlap | Grok 4.3Not measured |
| Math | Gemma 4 12B77.5 | MarginNo overlap | Grok 4.3Not measured |
| Inst. Following | Gemma 4 12BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Grok 4.381.3 |
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 | Grok 4.3 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Gemma 4 12BNot available | Grok 4.3$1.25 input / $2.5 output | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Gemma 4 12BNot available | Grok 4.3209 tok/s | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Gemma 4 12BNot available | Grok 4.312.36 s | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Gemma 4 12B256K | Grok 4.31M | Grok 4.3 lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic7 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | Grok 4.3 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 36.3% | 97.7% | Grok 4.3 leads |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 29.2% | Not comparable |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | — | 24.1% | Not comparable |
| APEX-Agents-AASource | — | 17.0% | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 1085 | Not comparable |
| Gert LabsSource | — | 43.86% | Not comparable |
| ResearchClawBenchSource | — | 12.4% | Not comparable |
Coding3 benchmarks
Reasoning4 benchmarks
KnowledgeGemma 4 12B wins12 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | Grok 4.3 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 78.8% | 90.1% | Grok 4.3 leads |
| 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 |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 22.0% | 37.6% | Grok 4.3 leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 75.3% | 90.1% | Grok 4.3 leads |
| AA-HLESource | 14.8% | 35.0% | Grok 4.3 leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -51.9% | 18.3% | Grok 4.3 leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 16.0% | 34.6% | Grok 4.3 leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 80.8% | 25.0% | Grok 4.3 leads |
| HLESource | — | 35% | Not comparable |
Math1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | Grok 4.3 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME26Source | 77.5% | — | Not comparable |
MultimodalGrok 4.3 wins5 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (3)
Which is better, Gemma 4 12B or Grok 4.3?
Grok 4.3 is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 65.1 to 47.29. The biggest single separator in this matchup is GPQA, where the scores are 78.8% and 90.1%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Gemma 4 12B or Grok 4.3?
Gemma 4 12B has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 77.5 versus 42.4. Inside this category, AA-Omniscience Index is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for multimodal and grounded tasks, Gemma 4 12B or Grok 4.3?
Grok 4.3 has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 78.1 versus 69.1. Inside this category, MMMU-Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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