Gemma 3 27B vs Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
Updated October 21, 2026. 11 benchmarks have a result for both. Coding is ranked on the Vibe Coding Index; every other board is shown as published.
Decision reading
Pick Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct for coding: it scores 60.4 on the Vibe Coding Index against 4.9 for Gemma 3 27B.
Pick Gemma 3 27B when the benchmark that matters is Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
- Shared results
- 11
- Gemma 3 27B only
- 51
- Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct only
- 5
- Like-for-like categories
- 7 of 9
Shared results can support a head-to-head reading. Results only one model has describe coverage, not superiority.
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, four public coding benchmarks
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct scores 60.4 against 4.9.
One benchmark behind each score
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct leads, 9.6 against 4.9.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Gemma 3 27B has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.1.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct has a Design Arena: websites result, 1087.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct takes 262K tokens against 131K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
Gemma 3 27B $0.0003, Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct $0.0002 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Gemma 3 27B 4.9 from 1 benchmark, Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 60.4 from 1 benchmark.
- Widest category
- Agentic work, 24.0 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run): Gemma 3 27B 13.7% against Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 40.3%, 26.6 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Gemma 3 27B $0.35 against Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct $0.28 per million output tokens, 1.2x apart.
- Context window
- Gemma 3 27B takes 131K tokens, Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 262K.
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 27B | Bars | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 2 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Agentic work | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 1 | 1 | ||
| Math | 0 | 2 | ||
| Knowledge | 0 | 1 | ||
| General | 0 | 2 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 10 |
CodingLike-for-likeFour of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index02
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aider polyglot | 4.9% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| SWE-bench Verified | Not measured | 60.4% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| SWE-bench Lite | Not measured | 49.7% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| AA Coding Index | 10.1 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 13.7% | 40.3% | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| SciCode | 23.3% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 3.8% | 15.2% | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1322 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1354 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 29 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 4.9 | 9.6 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 130.0 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 0.1 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 10.5% | 34.5% | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| Neither model has a result on the other 37 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index11
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 42.8% | 51.6% | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.4% | 3.8% | Gemma 3 27B |
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | 47.7% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1340 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1304 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1353 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision: diagrams | 1156 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision: homework | 1160 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 13 boards here | |||
MathLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 20.7 | 29.0 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 20.7% | 29.0% | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| OTIS Mock AIME | 22.5% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| MATH level 5 | 74.0% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1312 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1327 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 7 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 66.9% | 70.6% | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| GeoBench | 52.0% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: science | 1383 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1391 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1375 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1360 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1087 | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | Not measured | 1046 | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | Not measured | 1085 | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 31.8% | 32.7% | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 7.3% | 32.7% | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
| DTBench | 52.5% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMCA | 12.3% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| Fiction.LiveBench | 33.3% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| Creative writing (Lech Mazur) | 79.9% | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text | 1358 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1321 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1345 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision | 1165 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1377 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1334 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1346 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1362 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1287 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1308 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: French | 1368 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1349 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1349 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: Polish | 1345 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1345 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1333 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1347 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1320 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision: English | 1188 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision: Chinese | 1164 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision: reading text | 1156 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision: humor | 1166 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision: captioning | 1151 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision: recognizing things | 1196 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| LMArena Vision: creative writing | 1177 | Not measured | Only Gemma 3 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 15 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B 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
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 27B | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Qwen | |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | March 12, 2025 | July 31, 2025 |
| Context window | 131K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.08 | $0.07 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.35 | $0.28 |
| Coding index | 4.9 | 60.4 |
| Independent measurements behind it | 1 | 1 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Gemma 3 27B better than Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct for coding?
Pick Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct for coding: it scores 60.4 on the Vibe Coding Index against 4.9 for Gemma 3 27B. Pick Gemma 3 27B when the benchmark that matters is Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 27B or Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct?
Gemma 3 27B costs $0.08 per million input tokens and $0.35 per million output tokens; Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs $0.07 and $0.28. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 3 27B or Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct?
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct, with 262K tokens against 131K.
How many benchmarks is the Gemma 3 27B vs Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct comparison based on?
11 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Gemma 3 27B's coding index rests on 1 independent benchmark and Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct's on 1. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.