Model comparison
Gemma 4 12B vs Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)
Head-to-head evidence from 15 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); Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) #57 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Gemma 4 12B and Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) share 15 comparable benchmark results. 2 of 8 categories are comparable. 8 results are unique to Gemma 4 12B; 12 to Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning).
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 15
- Gemma 4 12B only
- 8
- Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) only
- 12
- Comparable categories
- 2 / 8
Pick Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Gemma 4 12B only becomes the better choice if you need the larger 256K context window.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 15 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
Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 59.35 to 47.29. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)'s sharpest advantage is in knowledge, where it averages 87.2 against 77.5. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is MMLU-Pro, 77.2% to 87.1%.
Gemma 4 12B gives you the larger context window at 256K, compared with 128K for Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning).
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 | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Gemma 4 12B77.5 | Margin→ 9.7 | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)87.2 |
| Multimodal | Gemma 4 12B69.1 | Margin→ 9.4 | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)78.5 |
| Agentic | Gemma 4 12BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)55.0 |
| Coding | Gemma 4 12BNot measured | MarginNo overlap | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)76.8 |
| Reasoning | Gemma 4 12B43.4 | MarginNo overlap | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)Not measured |
| Math | Gemma 4 12B77.5 | MarginNo overlap | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)Not measured |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
MMLU-Pro
KnowledgeA 77.2%B 87.1%Winner: Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)Δ 9.9MMLU-Pro: Gemma 4 12B scored 77.2%; Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) scored 87.1%. Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
MMMU-Pro
MultimodalA 69.1%B 78.5%Winner: Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)Δ 9.4MMMU-Pro: Gemma 4 12B scored 69.1%; Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) scored 78.5%. Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
GPQA
KnowledgeA 78.8%B 87.6%Winner: Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)Δ 8.8GPQA: Gemma 4 12B scored 78.8%; Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) scored 87.6%. Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Gemma 4 12B | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Gemma 4 12BNot available | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)$0.6 input / $3 output | A complete price comparison is not available. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Gemma 4 12BNot available | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)Not available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Gemma 4 12BNot available | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)Not available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Gemma 4 12B256K | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)128K | Gemma 4 12B lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic8 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 36.3% | 95.9% | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) leads |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | — | 50.8% | Not comparable |
| BrowseCompSource | — | 60.6% | Not comparable |
| APEX-Agents-AASource | — | 11.5% | Not comparable |
| Gert LabsSource | — | 32.58% | Not comparable |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | — | 21.7% | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 25.4% | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | — | 1009 | Not comparable |
Coding4 benchmarks
Reasoning4 benchmarks
KnowledgeKimi K2.5 (Reasoning) wins11 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQASource | 78.8% | 87.6% | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) leads |
| GPQA-DSource | 78.8% | — | Not comparable |
| MMLU-ProSource | 77.2% | 87.1% | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) leads |
| HLE w/o toolsSource | 5.2% | — | Not comparable |
| MMMLUSource | 83.4% | — | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 22.0% | 35.4% | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 75.3% | 87.9% | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) leads |
| AA-HLESource | 14.8% | 29.4% | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -51.9% | -8.1% | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 16.0% | 34.3% | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 80.8% | 64.6% | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) leads |
Math2 benchmarks
MultimodalKimi K2.5 (Reasoning) wins5 benchmarks
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 4 12B | Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 73.5% | 70.2% | Gemma 4 12B leads |
Frequently Asked Questions (3)
Which is better, Gemma 4 12B or Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)?
Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 59.35 to 47.29. The biggest single separator in this matchup is MMLU-Pro, where the scores are 77.2% and 87.1%.
Which is better for knowledge tasks, Gemma 4 12B or Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)?
Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 87.2 versus 77.5. 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 Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning)?
Kimi K2.5 (Reasoning) has the edge for multimodal and grounded tasks in this comparison, averaging 78.5 versus 69.1. Inside this category, MMMU-Pro is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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