Skip to main content
BenchLM

Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Gemma 4 31B

Updated September 30, 2026. Rank says Gemma 4 26B A4B is ahead. Price, access, and your workload can each overturn that. Public scores include evidence status and uncertainty. This is a same-family comparison, so migration details appear when the source data supports them.

Share or export
Share on XLinkedInSocial cardCSVJSON

Decision reading

Gemma 4 26B A4B has the higher public score estimate, 46.24 versus 44.75, but the 90% score intervals overlap. Treat that as a lead, not a settled winner. 4 results are shared. Category rows resting on Estimated evidence or different benchmark sets are marked directional and do not name a winner.

Model A
Google logo

Google

46.24/100

Supported · Public rank #96

90% interval 31.8–60.7

Model B
Google logo

Google

44.75/100

Estimated · Public rank #103

90% interval 24.0–65.5

Shared results
4
Gemma 4 26B A4B only
0
Gemma 4 31B only
4
Like-for-like categories
3 / 8
Supported: Gemma 4 26B A4B · Estimated: Gemma 4 31BHow the comparison works

Which one for your work

Recommendations appear only when a shared evidence basis or an explicit operating constraint supports the call. Secondary and unsupported use cases stay disclosed below the initial list.

  • Coding work

    Code generation, repair, and software-engineering tasks

    Gemma 4 31B

    Gemma 4 31B leads on the public coding lane, 35.6 to 34.1, with Supported evidence for both models, although the 90% intervals overlap.

    Confidence: limited
Show secondary and unsupported calls
  • Agentic work

    Tool use, computer use, and multi-step task completion

    Not enough matched evidence

    Gemma 4 26B A4B is not ranked on the public lane for agentic, so no winner is named for agentic.

    Confidence: limited
  • Long documents

    Prompts that approach the documented context limit

    No clear pick

    The documented context windows are equal.

    Confidence: documented
  • Chat turn cost

    1K fresh input + 500 output tokens

    Not enough matched evidence

    A complete comparable API-rate estimate is not available for both models.

    Confidence: listed-rates
  • Cache-heavy agent loop cost

    200K cached + 20K fresh input + 10K output tokens

    Not enough matched evidence

    A complete comparable API-rate estimate is not available for both models.

    Confidence: listed-rates
  • Repository review cost

    50K fresh input + 3K output tokens

    Not enough matched evidence

    A complete comparable API-rate estimate is not available for both models.

    Confidence: listed-rates

Which one for a specific job

Choose a job from the LLM Selector's task catalog to see the category row it rests on, under the same basis rules as the table below. A directional row stays directional; choosing a job never creates a winner.

The same task catalog as the LLM Selector. Each job names the evidence surface it rests on; nothing here adds a new score.

34.1Gemma 4 26B A4B35.6Gemma 4 31B

Like-for-like · BenchAlign v5.7

Gemma 4 31B leads the like-for-like coding row, although the 90% intervals overlap.

Coding scores combine specific tasks and setups. Match the editor, harness, and effort to your workflow.

Same basis rules as the category table below

What is actually comparable

Shared results can support a head-to-head reading. Results present for only one model describe coverage, not superiority.

1 category rests on Estimated evidence or different evidence sets. Those rows remain visible for coverage context but do not name a winner.

Shape of the matched evidence

Only shared public evidence is shown. Sparse evidence stays a ruled list rather than being closed into a radar shape.

Too few matched category axes support a radar. The ruled list below shows only shared benchmark results; positions use each benchmark’s normalized display scale when available.

Bars run 0–100 on each benchmark’s normalized display scale

Category results, on a stated basis

Each row shows the public-lane category score for both models: the BenchAlign v5.7 lane for agentic, coding, and knowledge, and the weighted public rows elsewhere, with the same rank each model page reports. A row is like-for-like only when both scores rest on Supported evidence or the same weighted set. Directional and not-comparable rows remain visible, but they never receive a winner.

Coding

Like-for-like
Gemma 4 26B A4B
34.1
Supported · #84/143
Gemma 4 31B
35.6
Supported · #80/143
Basis
BenchAlign v5.7 lane · 0 vs 2 public rows
Reading
Gemma 4 31B leads · intervals overlap

Multimodal

Like-for-like
Gemma 4 26B A4B
45.2
#43/50
Gemma 4 31B
59.5
#32/50
Basis
Provisional lane · 1 vs 1 weighted rows
Reading
Gemma 4 31B leads

Knowledge

Like-for-like
Gemma 4 26B A4B
36.4
Supported · #109/169
Gemma 4 31B
40.0
Supported · #99/169
Basis
BenchAlign v5.7 lane · 3 vs 4 public rows
Reading
Gemma 4 31B leads · intervals overlap

Instruction following

Directional only
Gemma 4 26B A4B
87.3
#31/124
Gemma 4 31B
91.5
#12/124
Basis
Provisional lane · 0 vs 0 weighted rows
Reading
Directional only

Agentic

Not comparable
Gemma 4 26B A4B
Not ranked
Gemma 4 31B
24.5
Estimated · #92/117
Basis
BenchAlign v5.7 lane · 0 vs 1 public rows
Reading
Not comparable

Reasoning

Not comparable
Gemma 4 26B A4B
67.4
Unranked · 2 rankable rows
Gemma 4 31B
70.2
Unranked · 2 rankable rows
Basis
Provisional lane · 0 vs 0 weighted rows
Reading
Not comparable

Multilingual

Not comparable
Gemma 4 26B A4B
Not ranked
Gemma 4 31B
Not ranked
Basis
Provisional lane · 0 vs 0 weighted rows
Reading
Not comparable

Math

Not comparable
Gemma 4 26B A4B
Not ranked
Gemma 4 31B
Not ranked
Basis
Provisional lane · 0 vs 0 weighted rows
Reading
Not comparable

Ranks count the models scored in each category’s lane, so the agentic, coding, and knowledge denominators (BenchAlign v5.7) differ from the provisional-lane categories. Unranked scores sit on the provisional lane’s scale but never name a winner. Like-for-like rows within 0.5 points read as a practical tie.

Supported evidence per lane · bars run 0–100Methodology

What each workload costs

Three fixed token mixes turn per-token rates into comparable decisions. Each scenario states context fit and whether cached input had to fall back to the published list-input rate.

Chat turn

1K fresh input + 500 output tokens

Gemma 4 26B A4B
Self-hosted; infrastructure cost varies
Fits in one request
Gemma 4 31B
Self-hosted; infrastructure cost varies
Fits in one request

Gemma 4 26B A4B has no comparable published API token rate. Gemma 4 31B has no comparable published API token rate.

Repository review

50K fresh input + 3K output tokens

Gemma 4 26B A4B
Self-hosted; infrastructure cost varies
Fits in one request
Gemma 4 31B
Self-hosted; infrastructure cost varies
Fits in one request

Gemma 4 26B A4B has no comparable published API token rate. Gemma 4 31B has no comparable published API token rate.

Cache-heavy agent loop

200K cached + 20K fresh input + 10K output tokens

Gemma 4 26B A4B
Self-hosted; infrastructure cost varies
Fits in one request
Cached-input rate unavailable
Gemma 4 31B
Self-hosted; infrastructure cost varies
Fits in one request
Cached-input rate unavailable

Gemma 4 26B A4B has no comparable published API token rate. Gemma 4 31B has no comparable published API token rate.

Cached input falls back to the list input rate only where a cached rate is unpublished

Specification differences

Sourced differences are shown directly. Missing facts stay explicit instead of being inferred from a model name or family.

Cached-input rate

A missing cached-input rate falls back to the listed input rate only in the stated workload estimate.

Gemma 4 26B A4B

No comparable hosted API rate

Gemma 4 31B

No comparable hosted API rate

Reasoning profile

Gemma 4 26B A4B

Reasoning

Gemma 4 31B

Reasoning

Weight access

Gemma 4 26B A4B

Open Weight

Gemma 4 31B

Open Weight

License

Gemma 4 26B A4B

Open Weight

Gemma 4 31B

Open Weight

Release date

Gemma 4 26B A4B

2026-04-02

Gemma 4 31B

2026-04-02

If you are choosing between sibling variants

Deployment change
Both entries list Google as the provider. Confirm endpoint, model ID, limits, and feature support before switching.
Quality signal
Gemma 4 26B A4B has the higher public score estimate, 46.24 versus 44.75, but the 90% score intervals overlap.
Workload cost
A complete comparable API-rate estimate is not available for both models.
Context tradeoff
Both models list 256K.
Run the same representative tasks against both endpoints before changing production traffic.

Questions

Which is better, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Gemma 4 31B?

Gemma 4 26B A4B has the higher public score estimate, 46.24 versus 44.75, but the 90% score intervals overlap. The higher estimate is not a decisive winner because the uncertainty ranges overlap.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Gemma 4 31B?

Gemma 4 31B leads the public coding lane, 35.6 to 34.1, with Supported evidence for both models, although the 90% intervals overlap.

Which is better for agentic tasks, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Gemma 4 31B?

Gemma 4 26B A4B is not ranked on the public lane for agentic tasks, so no winner is named for agentic tasks.

Which costs less, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Gemma 4 31B?

Both models do not have comparable published API token rates, so this page does not name a universal price winner.

Which has the larger context window, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Gemma 4 31B?

Both models list the same context window, 256K.

Self-host vs API cost

Estimates at 50,000 req/day · 1000 tokens/req average.

Gemma 4 26B A4B
API / mo$0
Self-host / moNot listed
Break-even—
Proprietary model — self-hosting not applicable.
Gemma 4 31B
API / mo$0
Self-host / mo$429
Break-even—
Model the full break-even

Benchmark evidence

The full public result ledger is available for audit without forcing a wide desktop table onto a phone.

Browse raw public benchmark evidence8 rows

Agentic

  • Gert Labs

    Gemma 4 26B A4B—
    Gemma 4 31B35.26%
    Source

    Not directly comparable

Coding

  • SWE-Rebench

    Gemma 4 26B A4B—
    Gemma 4 31B41.6%
    Source

    Not directly comparable

  • React Native Evals

    Gemma 4 26B A4B—
    Gemma 4 31B75.2%
    Source

    Not directly comparable

Multimodal

  • MMMU-Pro

    Gemma 4 26B A4B73.8%
    Source
    Gemma 4 31B76.9%
    Source

    Gemma 4 31B leads this result

Knowledge

  • MMLU-Pro

    Gemma 4 26B A4B82.6%
    Source
    Gemma 4 31B85.2%
    Source

    Gemma 4 31B leads this result

  • HLE

    Gemma 4 26B A4B17.2%
    Source
    Gemma 4 31B26.5%
    Source

    Gemma 4 31B leads this result

  • HLE w/o tools

    Gemma 4 26B A4B8.7%
    Source
    Gemma 4 31B19.5%
    Source

    Gemma 4 31B leads this result

  • GPQA

    Gemma 4 26B A4B—
    Gemma 4 31B84.3%
    Source

    Not directly comparable

8 public results · 4 shared

Watch Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Gemma 4 31B

One weekly email when material rank, price, or benchmark evidence changes make this matchup worth revisiting.

Read a sample issue

Join 2,000+ readers.

Last updated September 30, 2026