Model comparison
Gemma 4 12B vs Inkling
Head-to-head evidence from 5 shared benchmark results across 3 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Verified leaderboard positions: Gemma 4 12B unranked; Inkling #17
BenchAlign evidence: Gemma 4 12B estimated; Inkling not scored. Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Gemma 4 12B and Inkling share 5 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 20 results are unique to Gemma 4 12B; 11 to Inkling.
Updated July 15, 2026- Shared results
- 5
- Gemma 4 12B only
- 20
- Inkling only
- 11
- Comparable categories
- 3 / 8
Pick Inkling if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Gemma 4 12B only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 5 shared benchmark results across 3 evidence categories; 3 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
Inkling is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 69 to 48. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Inkling's sharpest advantage is in mathematics, where it averages 97.1 against 77.5. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is AIME26, 77.5% to 97.1%. Gemma 4 12B does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.
Gemma 4 12B is the reasoning model in the pair, while Inkling 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. Inkling 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 | Inkling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Gemma 4 12B77.5 | Margin← 25.8 | Inkling51.7 |
| Math | Gemma 4 12B77.5 | Margin→ 19.6 | Inkling97.1 |
| Multimodal | Gemma 4 12B69.1 | Margin→ 7.4 | Inkling76.5 |
| Agentic | Gemma 4 12BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Inkling69.4 |
| Coding | Gemma 4 12BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Inkling68.6 |
| Reasoning | Gemma 4 12B43.4 | MarginNo overlap | InklingNot measured |
| Inst. Following | Gemma 4 12BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Inkling79.8 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
AIME26
MathA 77.5%B 97.1%Winner: InklingΔ 19.6AIME26: Gemma 4 12B scored 77.5%; Inkling scored 97.1%. Inkling wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 78.8%B 87.9%Winner: InklingΔ 9.1GPQA: Gemma 4 12B scored 78.8%; Inkling scored 87.9%. Inkling wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
MMMU-Pro
MultimodalA 69.1%B 73.5%Winner: InklingΔ 4.4MMMU-Pro: Gemma 4 12B scored 69.1%; Inkling scored 73.5%. Inkling wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Gemma 4 12B | Inkling | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Gemma 4 12BNot available | Inkling$1.87 input / $4.68 output | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Gemma 4 12BNot available | InklingNot available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Gemma 4 12BNot available | InklingNot available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Gemma 4 12B256K | Inkling1M | Inkling lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic5 benchmarks
Coding6 benchmarks
Reasoning4 benchmarks
KnowledgeGemma 4 12B wins12 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | Inkling | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 78.8% | 87.9% | Inkling leads |
| GPQA-DSource | 78.8% | 87.9% | Inkling leads |
| MMLU-ProSource | 77.2% | — | Not comparable |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | 5.2% | 30% | Inkling leads |
| MMMLUSource | 83.4% | — | 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 |
| HLESource | — | 46% | Not comparable |
MathInkling wins1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | Inkling | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME26Source | 77.5% | 97.1% | Inkling leads |
MultimodalInkling wins6 benchmarks
Frequently Asked Questions (4)
Which is better, Gemma 4 12B or Inkling?
Inkling is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 69 to 48. The biggest single separator in this matchup is AIME26, where the scores are 77.5% and 97.1%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Gemma 4 12B or Inkling?
Gemma 4 12B has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 77.5 versus 51.7. Inside this category, HLE w/o tools is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for math, Gemma 4 12B or Inkling?
Inkling has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 97.1 versus 77.5. Inside this category, AIME26 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for multimodal and grounded tasks, Gemma 4 12B or Inkling?
Inkling has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 76.5 versus 69.1. Inside this category, MMMU-Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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