Gemma 3 12B (free) vs Qwen3.5-397B-A17B
Gemma 3 12B (free) (2026) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Google DeepMind and Alibaba. Gemma 3 12B (free) ships a 33K-token context window, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B ships a 262K-token context window. On pricing, Gemma 3 12B (free) costs $0.04/1M input tokens versus $0.39/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Gemma 3 12B (free) is ~875% cheaper at $0.04/1M; pay for Qwen3.5-397B-A17B only for reasoning depth.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-01-01 | 2026-02-16 |
| Context window | 33K | 262K |
| Parameters | — | 397B |
| Architecture | decoder only | MoE |
| License | Open Source | Apache 2.0 |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Gemma 3 12B (free) | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.04/1M tokens | $0.39/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.13/1M tokens | $2.34/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Gemma 3 12B (free) | Qwen3.5-397B-A17B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on multimodal input: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, reasoning mode: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, function calling: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B, and tool use: Qwen3.5-397B-A17B. Both models share structured outputs, 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.
For cost, Gemma 3 12B (free) lists $0.04/1M input and $0.13/1M output tokens, while Qwen3.5-397B-A17B lists $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Gemma 3 12B (free) lower by about $0.91 per million blended tokens. Availability is 3 providers versus 1, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Gemma 3 12B (free) when provider fit, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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, Gemma 3 12B (free) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B supports 262K tokens, while Gemma 3 12B (free) supports 33K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 12B (free) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Gemma 3 12B (free) is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Gemma 3 12B (free) costs $0.04/1M input and $0.13/1M output tokens. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B costs $0.39/1M input and $2.34/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Gemma 3 12B (free) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B open source?
Gemma 3 12B (free) is listed under Open Source. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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 multimodal input, Gemma 3 12B (free) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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 reasoning mode, Gemma 3 12B (free) or Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Qwen3.5-397B-A17B 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 Gemma 3 12B (free) and Qwen3.5-397B-A17B?
Gemma 3 12B (free) is available on AWS Bedrock, OpenRouter, and GCP Vertex AI. Qwen3.5-397B-A17B is available on OpenRouter. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.