Gemma 3 4B IT vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Gemma 3 4B IT and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct match in llmrun Score, with values of 64.0 versus 62.5; both fit 24 GB at Q4_K_M; Gemma 3 4B IT is 1.9× faster on RTX 4090 (~231 vs ~124 tok/s).
Model B · Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct8.0B · 128K context · Llama 3.1 Community · Jul 2024
Choose Gemma 3 4B IT if you want…
1.9× faster on RTX 4090
~231 vs ~124 tok/s
Lighter on memory
2.8 vs 5.3 GB at Q4_K_M
Also does vision
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct doesn't list it
Newer release
Feb 2025 vs Jul 2024
Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct if you want…
Also does chat, function-calling
Gemma 3 4B 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 3 4B IT
Q4_K_M · ~62 tok/s
5 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Q4_K_M · ~33 tok/s
7.9 GB · up to 16K
12 GB
RTX 3060 12GB · 12 GB tier
Gemma 3 4B IT
Q4_K_M · ~82 tok/s
5 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Q4_K_M · ~44 tok/s
7.9 GB · up to 32K
16 GB
RTX 5060 Ti 16GB · 16 GB tier
Gemma 3 4B IT
Q4_K_M · ~103 tok/s
5 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Q4_K_M · ~55 tok/s
7.9 GB · up to 32K
24 GBreference
RTX 4090 · 24 GB tier
Gemma 3 4B IT
Q4_K_M · ~231 tok/s
5 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Q4_K_M · ~124 tok/s
7.9 GB · up to 64K
32 GB
RTX 5090 · 32 GB tier
Gemma 3 4B IT
Q4_K_M · ~410 tok/s
5 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Q4_K_M · ~220 tok/s
7.9 GB · up to 128K
48 GB
RTX A6000 · 48 GB tier
Gemma 3 4B IT
Q4_K_M · ~176 tok/s
5 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Q4_K_M · ~94 tok/s
7.9 GB · up to 128K
Mac 32 GB
Mac Mini M4 · Macs
Gemma 3 4B IT
Q4_K_M · ~30 tok/s
5 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Q4_K_M · ~16 tok/s
7.9 GB · up to 128K
Mac 64 GB
Mac Studio M4 Max · Macs
Gemma 3 4B IT
Q4_K_M · ~135 tok/s
5 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Q4_K_M · ~72 tok/s
7.9 GB · up to 128K
Mac 128 GB
Mac Studio M4 Max · Macs
Gemma 3 4B IT
Q4_K_M · ~135 tok/s
5 GB · up to 32Kfaster
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Q4_K_M · ~72 tok/s
7.9 GB · up to 128K
Reference GPU: RTX 4090. Tinted cell = the better pick on that machine (fits, more headroom, or at least 10% faster).
Overall
Gemma 3 4B IT
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Coding
Gemma 3 4B IT
no data
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Science
Gemma 3 4B IT
no data
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Reasoning
Gemma 3 4B IT
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Gemma 3 4B IT · #87 of 92 open models · #30 of 34 that fit 24 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct · #88 of 92 open models · #31 of 34 that fit 24 GB
Benchmarks
7 shared boards: Gemma 3 4B IT leads 2, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct leads 3 · Benchmarks imported Oct 2026
Gemma 3 4B IT
23.2%#92/97 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Mar 2025
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
27.0%#86/97 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Jul 2024
Gemma 3 4B IT
1303.3#104/186 open
ArenaLMArena · Oct 2026
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
1211.3#141/186 open
ArenaLMArena · Oct 2026
Gemma 3 4B IT
7.5%#63/85 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Mar 2025
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
1.7%#76/85 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Jul 2024
Gemma 3 4B IT
43.6%#91/144 open
IndependentTIGER-Lab
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
44.3%#87/144 open
IndependentTIGER-Lab
Gemma 3 4B IT
0.0%#51/67 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Mar 2025
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
0.0%#57/67 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Jul 2024
Gemma 3 4B IT
50.9%#58/68 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Mar 2025
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
50.9%#59/68 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Jul 2024
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.8%#54/54 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Mar 2025
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
5.4%#51/54 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Jul 2024
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 3 4B IT
2.0 GB1.7 GB file
32K 6.6 GB · 128K 21.4 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
3.8 GB3.2 GB file
32K 9.3 GB · 128K 26.9 GB
Q3_K_S
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.1 GB1.9 GB file
32K 6.7 GB · 128K 21.5 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
3.9 GB3.7 GB file
32K 9.4 GB · 128K 27.0 GB
Q3_K_M
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.3 GB2.1 GB file
32K 6.9 GB · 128K 21.7 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
4.3 GB4.0 GB file
32K 9.8 GB · 128K 27.4 GB
Q4_0
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.4 GB2.4 GB file
32K 7.0 GB · 128K 21.8 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
4.4 GB4.7 GB file
32K 9.9 GB · 128K 27.5 GB
Q4_K_M
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.8 GB2.5 GB file
32K 7.5 GB · 128K 22.3 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
5.3 GB4.9 GB file
32K 10.8 GB · 128K 28.4 GB
Q5_K_M
Gemma 3 4B IT
3.4 GB2.8 GB file
32K 8.0 GB · 128K 22.8 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
6.3 GB5.7 GB file
32K 11.8 GB · 128K 29.4 GB
Q6_K
Gemma 3 4B IT
3.9 GB3.2 GB file
32K 8.5 GB · 128K 23.3 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
7.3 GB6.6 GB file
32K 12.8 GB · 128K 30.4 GB
Q8_0
Gemma 3 4B IT
4.7 GB4.1 GB file
32K 9.4 GB · 128K 24.1 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
8.8 GB8.5 GB file
32K 14.3 GB · 128K 32.0 GB
20 more quants
IQ2_XXS
Gemma 3 4B IT
1.3 GB1.3 GB file
32K 5.9 GB · 128K 20.7 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
2.4 GB2.5 GB file
32K 7.9 GB · 128K 25.6 GB
IQ2_XS
Gemma 3 4B IT
1.4 GB1.4 GB file
32K 6.0 GB · 128K 20.8 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
2.7 GB2.6 GB file
32K 8.2 GB · 128K 25.8 GB
IQ2_S
Gemma 3 4B IT
1.5 GB1.4 GB file
32K 6.1 GB · 128K 20.9 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
2.8 GB2.8 GB file
32K 8.3 GB · 128K 25.9 GB
IQ2_M
Gemma 3 4B IT
1.6 GB1.6 GB file
32K 6.2 GB · 128K 21.0 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
3.0 GB2.9 GB file
32K 8.5 GB · 128K 26.1 GB
IQ3_XXS
Gemma 3 4B IT
1.8 GB1.7 GB file
32K 6.5 GB · 128K 21.2 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
3.4 GB3.3 GB file
32K 8.9 GB · 128K 26.5 GB
Q2_K_S
Gemma 3 4B IT
1.9 GB1.6 GB file
32K 6.5 GB · 128K 21.3 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
3.5 GB3.0 GB file
32K 9.0 GB · 128K 26.7 GB
IQ3_XS
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.0 GB1.9 GB file
32K 6.6 GB · 128K 21.4 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
3.6 GB3.5 GB file
32K 9.1 GB · 128K 26.8 GB
IQ3_S
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.0 GB1.9 GB file
32K 6.6 GB · 128K 21.4 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
3.8 GB3.7 GB file
32K 9.3 GB · 128K 26.9 GB
IQ3_M
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.1 GB2.0 GB file
32K 6.8 GB · 128K 21.5 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
4.0 GB3.8 GB file
32K 9.5 GB · 128K 27.1 GB
Q3_K_L
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.4 GB2.2 GB file
32K 7.0 GB · 128K 21.8 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
4.5 GB4.3 GB file
32K 10.0 GB · 128K 27.7 GB
IQ4_XS
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.5 GB2.3 GB file
32K 7.2 GB · 128K 22.0 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
4.8 GB4.4 GB file
32K 10.3 GB · 128K 27.9 GB
IQ4_NL
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.7 GB2.4 GB file
32K 7.3 GB · 128K 22.1 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
5.0 GB4.7 GB file
32K 10.5 GB · 128K 28.1 GB
Q4_1
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.7 GB2.6 GB file
32K 7.3 GB · 128K 22.1 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
5.0 GB5.1 GB file
32K 10.5 GB · 128K 28.1 GB
Q4_K_S
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.7 GB2.4 GB file
32K 7.3 GB · 128K 22.1 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
5.0 GB4.7 GB file
32K 10.5 GB · 128K 28.1 GB
Q4_K_L
Gemma 3 4B IT
2.9 GB2.7 GB file
32K 7.5 GB · 128K 22.3 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
5.4 GB5.3 GB file
32K 10.9 GB · 128K 28.5 GB
Q5_0
Gemma 3 4B IT
3.0 GB2.8 GB file
32K 7.6 GB · 128K 22.4 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
5.5 GB5.6 GB file
32K 11.0 GB · 128K 28.6 GB
Q5_1
Gemma 3 4B IT
not listed
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
6.1 GB6.1 GB file
32K 11.6 GB · 128K 29.2 GB
Q5_K_S
Gemma 3 4B IT
3.3 GB2.8 GB file
32K 7.9 GB · 128K 22.7 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
6.1 GB5.6 GB file
32K 11.6 GB · 128K 29.2 GB
Q5_K_L
Gemma 3 4B IT
3.4 GB3.0 GB file
32K 8.1 GB · 128K 22.8 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
6.4 GB6.1 GB file
32K 11.9 GB · 128K 29.5 GB
BF16
Gemma 3 4B IT
9.5 GB7.8 GB file
32K 14.1 GB · 128K 28.9 GB
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
17.7 GB16.1 GB file
32K 23.2 GB · 128K 40.8 GB
Gemma 3 4B IT
Ollama · Q4_K_M
ollama run hf.co/MaziyarPanahi/gemma-3-4b-it-GGUF:Q4_K_MLlama 3.1 8B Instruct
Ollama · Q4_K_M
ollama run hf.co/bartowski/Meta-Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct-GGUF:Q4_K_M| Spec | Gemma 3 4B IT | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | Meta | |
| Parameters | 4.3B | 8.0B |
| Context | — | 128K tokens |
| Modalities | Vision | Chat, Function-calling |
| License | Gemma Terms | Llama 3.1 Community |
| Released | Feb 2025 | Jul 2024 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, Gemma 3 4B IT or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?
Gemma 3 4B IT and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct match in llmrun Score, with values of 64.0 versus 62.5; both fit 24 GB at Q4_K_M; Gemma 3 4B IT is 1.9× faster on RTX 4090 (~231 vs ~124 tok/s). Choose Gemma 3 4B IT for 1.9× faster on RTX 4090 and lighter on memory; choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct for also does chat, function-calling.
Which needs less VRAM, Gemma 3 4B IT or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?
At Q4_K_M, Gemma 3 4B IT requires 2.8 GB while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct needs 5.3 GB, making Gemma 3 4B IT the easier model to run on your local setup.
Which is faster on RTX 4090?
Estimated decode speed on RTX 4090 is about 231 tok/s for Gemma 3 4B IT (Q4_K_M) and 124 tok/s for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (Q4_K_M), so Gemma 3 4B IT is faster. Estimates, ±20%.
Can I run Gemma 3 4B IT or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct on a 16 GB GPU?
Gemma 3 4B IT fits at Q4_K_M; Llama 3.1 8B Instruct fits at Q4_K_M.