Gemma 3 12B vs Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite
Gemma 3 12B (2026) and Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite (2025) are compact production models from Google DeepMind and AI at Meta. Gemma 3 12B ships a 33k-token context window, while Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite ships a 8k-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.
Gemma 3 12B is ~150% cheaper at $0.04/1M; pay for Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Gemma 3 12B | Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Classification and JSON / Tool use | Agents, Classification, and JSON / Tool use |
| Context window | 33k | 8k |
| Cheapest output | $0.13/1M tokens | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 5 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Gemma 3 12B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Gemma 3 12B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Gemma 3 12B for Classification and JSON / Tool use.
- Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.10/1M tokens.
- Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite uniquely exposes JSON / Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite for Agents, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Gemma 3 12B
$64.50
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite
$105
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Together AI
Estimated monthly gap: $40.50. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Gemma 3 12B and Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite is $0.03/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite adds JSON / Tool use in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite and Gemma 3 12B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Gemma 3 12B is $0.03/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for JSON / Tool use before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-01-01 | 2025-07-15 |
| Context window | 33k | 8k |
| Parameters | 12B | 8B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Gemma | Llama 3 Community |
| Openness | Open weights | Open weights |
| Weights | Unknown | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-08 | 2024-03 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Gemma 3 12B | Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.04/1M tokens | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.13/1M tokens | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Gemma 3 12B | Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-09. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.