Gemma 2 27B IT vs Gemma 3 12B IT
Gemma 2 27B IT and Gemma 3 12B IT match in llmrun Score, with values of 72.7 versus 74.2; both fit 24 GB at Q4_K_M; Gemma 3 12B IT is 2.2× faster on RTX 4090 (~82 vs ~37 tok/s).
Choose Gemma 2 27B IT if you want…
Also does chat
Gemma 3 12B IT doesn't list it
Choose Gemma 3 12B IT if you want…
Ahead on the benchmarks
3 of 3 shared boards
Fits a 12 GB GPU
Q4_K_M · 10.9 GB; Gemma 2 27B IT needs 9.8 GB at its smallest quant
2.2× faster on RTX 4090
~82 vs ~37 tok/s
Lighter on memory
8.0 vs 18.0 GB at Q4_K_M
Longer context window
32K vs 8K tokens
Also does vision
Gemma 2 27B IT doesn't list it
On your hardware
Each model at its default quant (Q4_K_M), a smaller one when it must. Estimates, ±20%.
8 GB
RTX 4060 · 8 GB tier
Gemma 2 27B IT
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 9.8 GB
Gemma 3 12B IT
IQ2_M · ~39 tok/s
7.4 GB · up to 16Kfits
12 GB
RTX 3060 12GB · 12 GB tier
Gemma 2 27B IT
IQ2_M · ~23 tok/s
11.7 GB · up to 8K
Gemma 3 12B IT
Q4_K_M · ~29 tok/s
10.9 GB · up to 16Kmore headroom
16 GB
RTX 5060 Ti 16GB · 16 GB tier
Gemma 2 27B IT
IQ3_M · ~22 tok/s
15 GB · up to 8K
Gemma 3 12B IT
Q4_K_M · ~36 tok/s
10.9 GB · up to 32Kmore headroom
24 GBreference
RTX 4090 · 24 GB tier
Gemma 2 27B IT
Q4_K_M · ~37 tok/s
19.5 GB · up to 8K
Gemma 3 12B IT
Q4_K_M · ~82 tok/s
10.9 GB · up to 32Kfaster
32 GB
RTX 5090 · 32 GB tier
Gemma 2 27B IT
Q4_K_M · ~65 tok/s
19.5 GB · up to 8K
Gemma 3 12B IT
Q4_K_M · ~145 tok/s
10.9 GB · up to 32Kfaster
48 GB
RTX A6000 · 48 GB tier
Gemma 2 27B IT
Q4_K_M · ~28 tok/s
19.5 GB · up to 8K
Gemma 3 12B IT
Q4_K_M · ~62 tok/s
10.9 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Mac 32 GB
Mac Mini M4 · Macs
Gemma 2 27B IT
Q4_K_M · ~5 tok/s
19.5 GB · up to 8K
Gemma 3 12B IT
Q4_K_M · ~10 tok/s
10.9 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Mac 64 GB
Mac Studio M4 Max · Macs
Gemma 2 27B IT
Q4_K_M · ~21 tok/s
19.5 GB · up to 8K
Gemma 3 12B IT
Q4_K_M · ~48 tok/s
10.9 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Mac 128 GB
Mac Studio M4 Max · Macs
Gemma 2 27B IT
Q4_K_M · ~21 tok/s
19.5 GB · up to 8K
Gemma 3 12B IT
Q4_K_M · ~48 tok/s
10.9 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Reference GPU: RTX 4090. Tinted cell = the better pick on that machine (fits, more headroom, or at least 10% faster).
Overall
Gemma 2 27B IT
Gemma 3 12B IT
Science
Gemma 2 27B IT
no data
Gemma 3 12B IT
Reasoning
Gemma 2 27B IT
no data
Gemma 3 12B IT
Gemma 2 27B IT · #91 of 100 open models · #28 of 35 that fit 24 GB
Gemma 3 12B IT · #90 of 100 open models · #27 of 35 that fit 24 GB
Benchmarks
3 shared boards: Gemma 2 27B IT leads 0, Gemma 3 12B IT leads 3 · Benchmarks imported Oct 2026
Gemma 2 27B IT
36.5%#74/98 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Jun 2024
Gemma 3 12B IT
39.5%#71/98 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Mar 2025
Gemma 2 27B IT
1.4%#78/86 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Jun 2024
Gemma 3 12B IT
16.7%#55/86 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Mar 2025
Gemma 2 27B IT
56.5%#62/145 open
IndependentTIGER-Lab
Gemma 3 12B IT
60.6%#57/145 open
IndependentTIGER-Lab
7 more boards (other shared and single-model boards)
Gemma 2 27B IT
1289.5#112/187 open
ArenaLMArena · Oct 2026
Gemma 3 12B IT
1341.8#83/187 open
ArenaLMArena · Oct 2026
Only Gemma 2 27B IT (2)
- MATH Level 527.9%
- MMLU75.7%
VRAM by quantization
Memory to load the model and 2K context; below it, the total at 32K and 128K context. Lighter side in bold.
Q2_K
Gemma 2 27B IT
12.7 GB10.4 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
5.7 GB4.8 GB file
32K 11.9 GB · 128K —
Q3_K_S
Gemma 2 27B IT
13.1 GB12.2 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
5.9 GB5.5 GB file
32K 12.1 GB · 128K —
Q3_K_M
Gemma 2 27B IT
14.6 GB13.4 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
6.5 GB6.0 GB file
32K 12.7 GB · 128K —
Q4_0
Gemma 2 27B IT
15.0 GB15.7 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
6.7 GB6.9 GB file
32K 12.9 GB · 128K —
Q4_K_M
Gemma 2 27B IT
18.0 GB16.6 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
8.0 GB7.3 GB file
32K 14.2 GB · 128K —
Q5_K_M
Gemma 2 27B IT
21.3 GB19.4 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
9.6 GB8.4 GB file
32K 15.7 GB · 128K —
Q6_K
Gemma 2 27B IT
24.7 GB22.3 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
11.1 GB9.7 GB file
32K 17.3 GB · 128K —
Q8_0
Gemma 2 27B IT
30.0 GB28.9 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
13.4 GB12.5 GB file
32K 19.6 GB · 128K —
19 more quants
IQ2_XXS
Gemma 2 27B IT
8.2 GB7.6 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
3.7 GB3.6 GB file
32K 9.9 GB · 128K —
IQ2_XS
Gemma 2 27B IT
9.0 GB8.4 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
4.0 GB3.8 GB file
32K 10.2 GB · 128K —
IQ2_S
Gemma 2 27B IT
9.4 GB8.7 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
4.2 GB4.0 GB file
32K 10.4 GB · 128K —
IQ2_M
Gemma 2 27B IT
10.1 GB9.4 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
4.5 GB4.4 GB file
32K 10.7 GB · 128K —
IQ3_XXS
Gemma 2 27B IT
11.6 GB10.8 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
5.2 GB4.8 GB file
32K 11.4 GB · 128K —
Q2_K_S
Gemma 2 27B IT
not listed
Gemma 3 12B IT
5.4 GB4.4 GB file
32K 11.6 GB · 128K —
IQ3_XS
Gemma 2 27B IT
12.4 GB11.6 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
5.5 GB5.2 GB file
32K 11.7 GB · 128K —
IQ3_S
Gemma 2 27B IT
12.7 GB12.2 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
5.7 GB5.5 GB file
32K 11.9 GB · 128K —
IQ3_M
Gemma 2 27B IT
13.5 GB12.5 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
6.0 GB5.7 GB file
32K 12.2 GB · 128K —
Q3_K_L
Gemma 2 27B IT
15.4 GB14.5 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
6.9 GB6.5 GB file
32K 13.1 GB · 128K —
IQ4_XS
Gemma 2 27B IT
16.1 GB14.8 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
7.2 GB6.6 GB file
32K 13.4 GB · 128K —
IQ4_NL
Gemma 2 27B IT
not listed
Gemma 3 12B IT
7.5 GB6.9 GB file
32K 13.7 GB · 128K —
Q4_1
Gemma 2 27B IT
not listed
Gemma 3 12B IT
7.5 GB7.6 GB file
32K 13.7 GB · 128K —
Q4_K_S
Gemma 2 27B IT
16.9 GB15.7 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
7.5 GB6.9 GB file
32K 13.7 GB · 128K —
Q4_K_L
Gemma 2 27B IT
18.3 GB16.9 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
8.2 GB7.5 GB file
32K 14.4 GB · 128K —
Q5_0
Gemma 2 27B IT
18.7 GB18.9 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
8.4 GB8.2 GB file
32K 14.6 GB · 128K —
Q5_K_S
Gemma 2 27B IT
20.6 GB18.9 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
9.2 GB8.2 GB file
32K 15.4 GB · 128K —
Q5_K_L
Gemma 2 27B IT
21.7 GB19.7 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
9.7 GB8.7 GB file
32K 15.9 GB · 128K —
BF16
Gemma 2 27B IT
59.9 GB~54.5 GB file
32K — · 128K —
Gemma 3 12B IT
26.8 GB23.5 GB file
32K 33.0 GB · 128K —
Gemma 2 27B IT
Ollama · Q4_K_M
ollama run hf.co/bartowski/gemma-2-27b-it-GGUF:Q4_K_MGemma 3 12B IT
Ollama · Q4_K_M
ollama run hf.co/MaziyarPanahi/gemma-3-12b-it-GGUF:Q4_K_M| Spec | Gemma 2 27B IT | Gemma 3 12B IT |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | ||
| Parameters | 27.2B | 12.2B |
| Context | 8K tokens | 32K tokens |
| Modalities | Chat | Vision |
| License | Gemma Terms | Gemma Terms |
| Released | Jun 2024 | Mar 2025 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Gemma 2 27B IT or Gemma 3 12B IT?
Gemma 2 27B IT and Gemma 3 12B IT match in llmrun Score, with values of 72.7 versus 74.2; both fit 24 GB at Q4_K_M; Gemma 3 12B IT is 2.2× faster on RTX 4090 (~82 vs ~37 tok/s). Choose Gemma 2 27B IT for also does chat; choose Gemma 3 12B IT for ahead on the benchmarks and fits a 12 GB GPU.
Which needs less VRAM, Gemma 2 27B IT or Gemma 3 12B IT?
At Q4_K_M, Gemma 2 27B IT requires 18.0 GB while Gemma 3 12B IT needs 8.0 GB, making Gemma 3 12B IT the easier model to run on your local setup.
Which is faster on RTX 4090?
Estimated decode speed on RTX 4090 is about 37 tok/s for Gemma 2 27B IT (Q4_K_M) and 82 tok/s for Gemma 3 12B IT (Q4_K_M), so Gemma 3 12B IT is faster. Estimates, ±20%.
Can I run Gemma 2 27B IT or Gemma 3 12B IT on a 16 GB GPU?
Gemma 2 27B IT fits at IQ3_M; Gemma 3 12B IT fits at Q4_K_M.
Which has a longer context window, Gemma 2 27B IT or Gemma 3 12B IT?
Gemma 2 27B IT supports 8,192 tokens and Gemma 3 12B IT supports 32,768 tokens.