Claude Haiku 4.5 vs Gemma 4 12B IT
Claude Haiku 4.5 (2025) and Gemma 4 12B IT (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Anthropic and Google DeepMind. Claude Haiku 4.5 ships a 200k-token context window, while Gemma 4 12B IT ships a 256k-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
Gemma 4 12B IT is safer overall; choose Claude Haiku 4.5 when coding workflow support matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Gemma 4 12B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 200k | 256k |
| Cheapest output | $4/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 8 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Claude Haiku 4.5 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 uniquely exposes Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Claude Haiku 4.5 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Gemma 4 12B IT has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Gemma 4 12B IT uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Gemma 4 12B IT for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Claude Haiku 4.5
$1,640
Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock
Gemma 4 12B IT
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Claude Haiku 4.5 and Gemma 4 12B IT; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Gemma 4 12B IT adds Reasoning in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Gemma 4 12B IT and Claude Haiku 4.5; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Claude Haiku 4.5 adds Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-10-01 | 2026-06-03 |
| Context window | 200k | 256k |
| Parameters | — | 12B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Proprietary | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-02 | 2025-01 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Gemma 4 12B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.80/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $4/1M tokens | - |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude Haiku 4.5 | Gemma 4 12B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: Gemma 4 12B IT and code execution: Claude Haiku 4.5. Both models share vision, multimodal input, function calling, and tool use, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
Pricing coverage is uneven: Claude Haiku 4.5 has $0.80/1M input tokens and Gemma 4 12B IT has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 8 tracked routes versus 2. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Claude Haiku 4.5 when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Gemma 4 12B IT when reasoning depth and larger context windows are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 12B IT?
Gemma 4 12B IT supports 256k tokens, while Claude Haiku 4.5 supports 200k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Is Claude Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 12B IT open source?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is listed under Proprietary. Gemma 4 12B IT is listed under Apache 2.0. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 12B IT?
Both Claude Haiku 4.5 and Gemma 4 12B IT expose vision. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Which is better for multimodal input, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 12B IT?
Both Claude Haiku 4.5 and Gemma 4 12B IT expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Which is better for reasoning mode, Claude Haiku 4.5 or Gemma 4 12B IT?
Gemma 4 12B IT has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Claude Haiku 4.5 and Gemma 4 12B IT?
Claude Haiku 4.5 is available on Microsoft Foundry, Anthropic, Snowflake Cortex, AWS Bedrock, and GCP Vertex AI. Gemma 4 12B IT is available on Hugging Face Inference Endpoints and Kaggle Models. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.