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Gemma 3 12B vs GPT-5 Nano

GPT-5 Nano leads Gemma 3 12B on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 13.0 to 3.8, and Gemma 3 12B costs 2.5x less per output token ($0.1625 vs $0.40 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 39 benchmarks have a result for both.

Replace Gemma 3 12B Replace GPT-5 Nano
Gemma 3 12BGoogle
Coding
No data
Overall
28.0
Output $/M
$0.1625
14
GPT-5 NanoOpenAI
Coding
No data
Overall
35.6
Output $/M
$0.40
25
vs boards won of 39 shared

Gemma 3 12B or GPT-5 Nano: which to pick

Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.

Pick Gemma 3 12B for output tokens 2.5x cheaper ($0.1625 vs $0.40 per million) and work measured by LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) or Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.

Model AGemma 3 12BGoogleNot benchmarkedNo coding benchmarkNo cost per solved taskModel BGPT-5 NanoOpenAINot benchmarkedNo coding benchmark$0.109 per solved task
Shared results
39
Gemma 3 12B only
4
GPT-5 Nano only
48
Like-for-like categories
7 of 9

Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.

Which one for your work

Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.

At a glance

Coding index
Gemma 3 12B not benchmarked, GPT-5 Nano not benchmarked.
Widest category
Math, 39.7 points apart on average over 5 shared benchmarks.
Widest single gap
AA Math Index: Gemma 3 12B 18.3 against GPT-5 Nano 83.7, 65.4 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
Output price
Gemma 3 12B $0.1625 against GPT-5 Nano $0.40 per million output tokens, 2.5x apart.
Context window
Gemma 3 12B takes 131K tokens, GPT-5 Nano 400K.

Benchmark by benchmark

First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.

Boards won, where both have a result
CategoryGemma 3 12BBarsGPT-5 NanoTies
Coding04
Intelligence02
Agentic work02
Reasoning06
Math14
Knowledge32
General105
All shared boards1425
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index04
Coding benchmarks for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
BenchmarkGemma 3 12BGPT-5 NanoLeader
SWE-bench VerifiedNot measured34.8%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
AA Coding Index5.8Not measuredOnly Gemma 3 12B measured
LiveCodeBench (Vals AI)Not measured70.2%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run)13.7%78.9%GPT-5 Nano
SciCode16.4%Not measuredOnly Gemma 3 12B measured
Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run)0.8%17.4%GPT-5 Nano
Terminal-BenchNot measured21.8%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
WeirdMLNot measured38.1%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: coding12811351GPT-5 Nano
LMArena Text: software and IT13131345GPT-5 Nano
SciCode0.0%Not measuredOnly Gemma 3 12B measured
Neither model has a result on the other 28 boards here
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
Intelligence benchmarks for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
BenchmarkGemma 3 12BGPT-5 NanoLeader
AA Intelligence Index3.813.0GPT-5 Nano
Epoch Capabilities Index123.5139.2GPT-5 Nano
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
Agentic work benchmarks for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
BenchmarkGemma 3 12BGPT-5 NanoLeader
AA Agentic Index0.1Not measuredOnly Gemma 3 12B measured
τ²-Bench Telecom10.8%36.5%GPT-5 Nano
Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard (BFCL)30.4%51.4%GPT-5 Nano
Neither model has a result on the other 38 boards here
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index06
Reasoning benchmarks for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
BenchmarkGemma 3 12BGPT-5 NanoLeader
GPQA DiamondNot measured63.4%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
MMMU Pro (Vals AI)Not measured70.9%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run)34.9%67.6%GPT-5 Nano
Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run)4.2%9.5%GPT-5 Nano
GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run)39.5%69.4%GPT-5 Nano
ARC-AGINot measured20.7%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
ARC-AGI-2Not measured2.6%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Chess puzzlesNot measured22.0%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Mystery game puzzlesNot measured9.0%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
VPCTNot measured37.2%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: hard prompts13091328GPT-5 Nano
LMArena Text: expert12481321GPT-5 Nano
LMArena Text: hard prompts in English13181338GPT-5 Nano
LMArena Vision: diagramsNot measured1141Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Vision: homeworkNot measured1157Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Kagi LLM BenchmarkNot measured62.2%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here
MathLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index14
Math benchmarks for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
BenchmarkGemma 3 12BGPT-5 NanoLeader
AIMENot measured81.2%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
MATH 500 (Vals AI)Not measured93.8%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
MGSM (Vals AI)Not measured89.3%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
AA Math Index18.383.7GPT-5 Nano
AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run)18.3%83.7%GPT-5 Nano
OTIS Mock AIME16.7%81.1%GPT-5 Nano
FrontierMath, tiers 1 to 3Not measured20.0%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
FrontierMath, tier 4Not measured2.4%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
ProofBenchNot measured12.0%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
MATH level 5Not measured95.2%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: math13071317GPT-5 Nano
LMArena Text: mathematical work13361326Gemma 3 12B
Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index32
Knowledge benchmarks for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
BenchmarkGemma 3 12BGPT-5 NanoLeader
MMLU ProNot measured76.1%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LegalBench (Vals AI)Not measured50.1%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
CaseLaw (Vals AI)Not measured52.6%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
TaxEval (Vals AI)Not measured67.4%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
MortgageTax (Vals AI)Not measured53.6%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
MedQA (Vals AI)Not measured93.3%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
MedCode (Vals AI)Not measured30.4%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run)59.5%78.0%GPT-5 Nano
SimpleQA VerifiedNot measured11.7%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: science13661318Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare13341335GPT-5 Nano
LMArena Text: legal and government13811298Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: business and finance13761311Gemma 3 12B
Neither model has a result on the other 5 boards here
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards, none shared
Web design benchmarks for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
BenchmarkGemma 3 12BGPT-5 NanoLeader
Design Arena: websitesNot measured1101Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Design Arena: UI componentsNot measured1064Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Design Arena: game devNot measured1044Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Design Arena: data vizNot measured1056Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Design Arena: 3DNot measured965Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Design Arena: all code categoriesNot measured1084Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Neither model has a result on the other 3 boards here
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index105
General benchmarks for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
BenchmarkGemma 3 12BGPT-5 NanoLeader
SAGE (Vals AI)Not measured30.4%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
MedScribe (Vals AI)Not measured72.9%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
IFBench36.7%67.6%GPT-5 Nano
Long context reasoning (AA-LCR)8.3%45.0%GPT-5 Nano
DTBench48.8%62.7%GPT-5 Nano
LMCA4.5%7.9%GPT-5 Nano
Fiction.LiveBenchNot measured44.4%Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text13341320Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: instruction following12991306GPT-5 Nano
LMArena Text: creative writing13311249Gemma 3 12B
LMArena VisionNot measured1159Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: English13491321Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: non-English13181313Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: ChineseNot measured1356Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: German13701327Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: JapaneseNot measured1227Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: KoreanNot measured1269Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: SpanishNot measured1360Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: Russian13351296Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: PolishNot measured1314Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Text: multi-turn13341311Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: longer queries13171312Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: writing and language13071283Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Text: entertainment and media12971268Gemma 3 12B
LMArena Vision: EnglishNot measured1170Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Vision: ChineseNot measured1176Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Vision: reading textNot measured1152Only GPT-5 Nano measured
LMArena Vision: humorNot measured1110Only GPT-5 Nano measured
Neither model has a result on the other 18 boards here
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
Image generation benchmarks for Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
BenchmarkGemma 3 12BGPT-5 NanoLeader
Neither model has a result on 5 boards here

What each workload costs

Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.

Chat turn

1K input + 500 output tokens

Gemma 3 12B$0.0002Fits in one request
GPT-5 Nano$0.0003Fits in one request

Gemma 3 12B costs less

Repository review

50K input + 3K output tokens

Gemma 3 12B$0.0042Fits in one request
GPT-5 Nano$0.0037Fits in one request

GPT-5 Nano costs less

Agent loop

200K input + 10K output tokens

Gemma 3 12B$0.017Exceeds the context window
GPT-5 Nano$0.014Fits in one request

GPT-5 Nano costs less

Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.

Specification differences

The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.

Specifications of Gemma 3 12B and GPT-5 Nano
SpecificationGoogle Gemma 3 12BOpenAI GPT-5 Nano
MakerGoogleOpenAI
WeightsOpen weightsNo public weights listed
ReleasedMarch 13, 2025August 7, 2025
Context window131K400K
Input $/Mtok$0.075$0.05
Output $/Mtok$0.1625$0.40
Coding indexNot benchmarkedNot benchmarked
Independent measurements behind it00
Cost per solved taskNot computable$0.109
SourceOpenRouter listingOpenRouter listing

Questions

Is Gemma 3 12B better than GPT-5 Nano for coding?

Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Gemma 3 12B for output tokens 2.5x cheaper ($0.1625 vs $0.40 per million) and work measured by LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) or Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.

Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 12B or GPT-5 Nano?

Gemma 3 12B costs $0.075 per million input tokens and $0.1625 per million output tokens; GPT-5 Nano costs $0.05 and $0.40. Cost per solved task is known for GPT-5 Nano only.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 3 12B or GPT-5 Nano?

GPT-5 Nano, with 400K tokens against 131K.

How many benchmarks is the Gemma 3 12B vs GPT-5 Nano comparison based on?

39 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Gemma 3 12B's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and GPT-5 Nano's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.

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