Gemma 3 12B vs Mixtral 8x22B Instruct
Mixtral 8x22B Instruct leads Gemma 3 12B on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 5.7 to 3.8, and Gemma 3 12B costs 36.9x less per output token ($0.1625 vs $6.00 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 7 benchmarks have a result for both.
Gemma 3 12B or Mixtral 8x22B Instruct: 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 36.9x cheaper ($0.1625 vs $6.00 per million) and a larger context window (131K against 66K tokens).
- Shared results
- 7
- Gemma 3 12B only
- 34
- Mixtral 8x22B Instruct only
- 0
- Like-for-like categories
- 5 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.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Mixtral 8x22B Instruct
Mixtral 8x22B Instruct leads, 5.7 against 3.8.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Gemma 3 12B has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.1.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Gemma 3 12B
Gemma 3 12B takes 131K tokens against 66K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Gemma 3 12B
Gemma 3 12B $0.0002, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct $0.0050 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Gemma 3 12B not benchmarked, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- General, 6.3 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- DTBench: Gemma 3 12B 48.8% against Mixtral 8x22B Instruct 55.1%, 6.3 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Gemma 3 12B $0.1625 against Mixtral 8x22B Instruct $6.00 per million output tokens, 36.9x apart.
- Context window
- Gemma 3 12B takes 131K tokens, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct 66K.
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.
| Category | Gemma 3 12B | Bars | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 1 | ||
| Intelligence | 1 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 2 | 0 | ||
| Knowledge | 1 | 0 | ||
| General | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 4 | 3 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index01
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | 5.8 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 13.7% | 14.8% | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct |
| SciCode | 16.4% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 0.8% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1281 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1313 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 32 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index11
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 3.8 | 5.7 | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 123.5 | 122.0 | Gemma 3 12B |
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 0.1 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 10.8% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 34.9% | 33.2% | Gemma 3 12B |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.2% | 4.0% | Gemma 3 12B |
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | 39.5% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1309 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1248 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1318 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 15 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 18.3 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 18.3% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| OTIS Mock AIME | 16.7% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1307 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1336 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 8 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 59.5% | 53.7% | Gemma 3 12B |
| LMArena Text: science | 1366 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1334 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1381 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1376 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 9 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 36.7% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 8.3% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| DTBench | 48.8% | 55.1% | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct |
| LMCA | 4.5% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text | 1334 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1299 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1331 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1349 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1318 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1370 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1335 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1334 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1317 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1307 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1297 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 12B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 31 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Gemma 3 12B costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Gemma 3 12B 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.
| Specification | Google Gemma 3 12B | Mistral Mixtral 8x22B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Mistral AI | |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | March 13, 2025 | April 17, 2024 |
| Context window | 131K | 66K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.075 | $2.00 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.1625 | $6.00 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Gemma 3 12B better than Mixtral 8x22B Instruct for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Gemma 3 12B for output tokens 36.9x cheaper ($0.1625 vs $6.00 per million) and a larger context window (131K against 66K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 12B or Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?
Gemma 3 12B costs $0.075 per million input tokens and $0.1625 per million output tokens; Mixtral 8x22B Instruct costs $2.00 and $6.00. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 3 12B or Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?
Gemma 3 12B, with 131K tokens against 66K.
How many benchmarks is the Gemma 3 12B vs Mixtral 8x22B Instruct comparison based on?
7 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Gemma 3 12B's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.