Side-by-side comparison of pricing, 12 benchmarks, and generation speed.
| Metric | Gemma 3 12B Instruct | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Reasoning, Max Effort) |
|---|---|---|
| Input ($/M tokens) | $0.09 | $0.14 |
| Output ($/M tokens) | $0.29 | $0.28 |
Data from Artificial Analysis API — 12 benchmarks
Gemma 3 12B Instruct is cheaper overall. Its blended price (3:1 input/output ratio) is $0.14/M tokens vs $0.17/M for DeepSeek V4 Flash (Reasoning, Max Effort).
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Reasoning, Max Effort) wins 7 out of 12 benchmarks compared to 5 for Gemma 3 12B Instruct. See the detailed benchmark chart above for per-category results.
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Reasoning, Max Effort) generates tokens faster at 88 tok/s vs 0 tok/s. Gemma 3 12B Instruct also has lower time-to-first-token (0.00s vs 0.85s).
Choose based on your priorities: Gemma 3 12B Instruct for lower cost, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Reasoning, Max Effort) for stronger benchmark performance, and DeepSeek V4 Flash (Reasoning, Max Effort) for faster generation. For latency-sensitive apps, check the TTFT comparison above.