Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1
Gemma 3 12B (2026) and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 (2025) are compact production models from Google DeepMind and NVIDIA AI. Gemma 3 12B ships a 33k-token context window, while Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 ships a 4k-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 fits 8x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Gemma 3 12B | Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | multimodal apps |
| Decision fit | Classification and JSON / Tool use | Vision |
| Context window | 33k | 4k |
| Cheapest output | $0.13/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 5 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
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 procurement flexibility.
- Gemma 3 12B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Gemma 3 12B for Classification and JSON / Tool use.
- Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 uniquely exposes Vision and Multimodal in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 for Vision.
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
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1
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 Gemma 3 12B and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 adds Vision and Multimodal in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 and Gemma 3 12B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision and Multimodal before moving production traffic.
- Gemma 3 12B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-01-01 | 2025-03-01 |
| Context window | 33k | 4k |
| Parameters | 12B | 8B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Gemma | Llama 3 Community |
| Openness | Open weights | Open weights |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use with conditions |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-08 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Gemma 3 12B | Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.04/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $0.13/1M tokens | - |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Gemma 3 12B | Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1, multimodal input: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1, and structured outputs: Gemma 3 12B. Both models share the core language-model surface, 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: Gemma 3 12B has $0.04/1M input tokens and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 5 tracked routes versus 1. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Gemma 3 12B when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 when vision-heavy evaluation 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.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1?
Gemma 3 12B supports 33k tokens, while Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 supports 4k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Is Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 open source?
Gemma 3 12B is listed under Gemma. Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 is listed under Llama 3 Community. 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, Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1?
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for multimodal input, Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1?
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for structured outputs, Gemma 3 12B or Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1?
Gemma 3 12B has the clearer documented structured outputs signal in this comparison. If structured outputs is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Gemma 3 12B and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1?
Gemma 3 12B is available on Cloudflare Workers AI, AWS Bedrock, OpenRouter, GCP Vertex AI, and Novita AI. Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 is available on NVIDIA NIM. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-22. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.