Gemma 3 12B vs Llama 3.1 Swallow 8B Instruct
Gemma 3 12B (2026) and Llama 3.1 Swallow 8B Instruct (2025) are compact production models from Google DeepMind and Tokyo Institute of Technology. Gemma 3 12B ships a 33k-token context window, while Llama 3.1 Swallow 8B Instruct 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 Swallow 8B Instruct for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Gemma 3 12B | Llama 3.1 Swallow 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | general production evaluation |
| Decision fit | Classification and JSON / Tool use | General |
| Context window | 33k | 4k |
| Cheapest output | $0.13/1M 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.
- Gemma 3 12B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Gemma 3 12B for Classification and JSON / Tool use.
- Use Llama 3.1 Swallow 8B Instruct when your own prompt tests beat the comparison signals; the local data does not show a decisive standalone advantage yet.
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 Swallow 8B Instruct
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 Swallow 8B Instruct; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Llama 3.1 Swallow 8B Instruct and Gemma 3 12B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Gemma 3 12B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-01-01 | 2025-01-01 |
| Context window | 33k | 4k |
| Parameters | 12B | 8B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Gemma | Llama 2 Community |
| Openness | Open weights | Open weights |
| Weights | Unknown | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-08 | 2023 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Gemma 3 12B | Llama 3.1 Swallow 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.04/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $0.13/1M tokens | - |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Gemma 3 12B | Llama 3.1 Swallow 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / 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 scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-30. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.