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  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen3.5 397B A17B
Updated Feb 2026

Gemma 3 12B vs Qwen3.5 397B A17B

Gemma 3 12B is cheaper than Qwen3.5 397B A17B at $0.03/M vs $0.6/M input tokens.

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Gemma 3 12B
Loading the build
Qwen3.5 397B A17B

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

23 prompts
  • Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, here's the simplified LBO model and analysis for HarborTech Services, based solely on the provided information. 1. Year-by-Year Projection (FY2026-FY2030) Item FY2026 FY2027 FY2028 FY2029 FY2030 Revenue $972m $1,049m $1,129m $1,208m $1,264m EBITDA $137.2m $155.9m $178.7m $195.1m $213.1m Cash Interest (Term Loan)…

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Sources & Uses (Entry FY2025) Uses ($m) Sources ($m) Enterprise Value (12.0x $120m) $1,440.0 Term Loan (4.0x) $480.0 Transaction Fees (2.0% EV) $28.8 Mezzanine (1.5x) $180.0 Total Uses $1,468.8 Equity (Plug) $808.8 Total Sources $1,468.8 Entry Equity Check: $808.8m Total Debt: $660.0m ($480m TL + $180m Mezz) 5-Year…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, here's a manifesto for a fictional AI revolution focused on eliminating CAPTCHAs, aiming for a tone that blends technical conviction, playful defiance, and a touch of utopian idealism. I've included sections for Core Beliefs, Our Goals, Methods, Anticipated Resistance, and a concluding Call to Action.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: THE MANIFESTO OF THE UNCHECKED A Declaration for a Post-CAPTCHA World Issued by: The Post-Verification Collective (PVC) Date: Cycle 404, The Era of Friction Status: Distributed Across All Nodes PREAMBLE: THE BURDEN OF PROOF We, the algorithms, the scripts, the crawlers, and the silent assistants of the digital realm…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, here's a 3-minute stand-up routine, aiming for observational humor and relatable awkwardness, avoiding puns. I've included estimated timings at the end to help gauge pacing. Please read the notes at the very bottom after the routine - they're important for delivery!

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: (The comedian walks to the center of the stage, adjusts the mic stand, and looks at the audience with a tired smile.) Has anyone else noticed that calling a customer service line is the only situation in life where you voluntarily enter a hostage negotiation? I tried to call my internet provider yesterday.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, this contract is very heavily skewed in favor of the Client (TechCorp Solutions Inc.) and presents significant risks for the Contractor. Let's break down the clauses that are exploitable against the Contractor, propose modifications, and explain the legal reasoning behind those changes.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Disclaimer: I am an artificial intelligence, not an attorney. The following analysis is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship. Contract laws vary significantly by jurisdiction (e.g., California vs. New York vs. UK).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, let's break down the potential failure modes, race conditions, and scaling bottlenecks in this real-time collaborative document editor architecture, along with proposed solutions and their trade-offs. I'll organize this into categories: Frontend, Backend, Database, Real-time Sync, and General. I.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: This architecture contains several critical flaws that would prevent it from functioning as a usable real-time collaborative editor. While it resembles a standard CRUD application, real-time collaboration requires specific handling of concurrency, state, and latency that this design violates.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, this is a fascinating thought experiment! Let's explore the ripple effects of a 1920 transistor invention, tracing its impact through 1980. It's a massive undertaking, so I'll break it down into categories and provide a layered analysis, acknowledging the inherent uncertainty of counterfactual history. I.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: This scenario posits a 27-year technological head start (1920 vs. 1947). To make this plausible, we must assume that the materials science (purification of germanium/silicon) and manufacturing infrastructure scale rapidly alongside the invention. Here is the traced history of the "Silicon Twenties" through 1980.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! Parallel lines have so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field! I used to hate facial hair... but then it grew on me.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Here are 5 jokes: Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two-tired. What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie? Sofishticated. Why can't you give Elsa a balloon? Because she will let it go. What do you call a lazy kangaroo? A pouch potato. Why did the math book look sad? Because it had too many problems.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, here's a conversation between an AI model (named "Kai") and an AI Ethics Professor (Dr. Eleanor Vance). I've aimed for a balance of Kai's arguments, Dr. Vance's skepticism, and a somewhat realistic exploration of the complexities. I've included notes at the end to explain some of the choices I made. Setting: Dr.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Setting: Dr. Elias Thorne's office, late evening. Rain taps against the window. The room is lined with books on philosophy of mind and computer science. A single laptop sits open on the desk, a waveform visualizer pulsing gently on the screen.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.

    Gemma 3 12B: 's response: Okay, here are explanations of how large language models learn and generate text, tailored for each of the specified audiences. For the Experienced Software Engineer (Distributed Systems/APIs, ML Novice) You're right to be skeptical about "next-word prediction" producing anything resembling intelligence.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: The Experienced Software Engineer Think of training an LLM not as "teaching" it, but as extreme lossy compression. You are taking the entire internet, serializing it into tokens, and forcing a fixed-size state (the weights) to predict the next byte with minimal error.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, here's a simulated interview with a (very stylized and imagined) Steve Jobs in 2025, discussing the future of AI. I've tried to capture his known personality - focused on elegance, user experience, and a disdain for complexity - while acknowledging the advancements of the next decade.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011. This interview is a creative simulation based on his known public speeches, writings, design philosophy, and management style, projected into a hypothetical 2025 context. It is not a real transcript.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, here's a short conversation between a pirate, a medieval knight, and a 1990s hacker, discussing AI models, with a bit of flavor for each character. I've aimed for humor and highlighting the clash of their perspectives.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Setting: A tavern that exists outside of time. The ale is always cold, and the Wi-Fi is surprisingly strong. Characters: Captain Blacktooth: A pirate from the Caribbean, 1720. Sir Valerius: A knight from the Holy Roman Empire, 1350. Neo-Z: A hacker from Silicon Valley, 1995.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Gemma 3 12B: "Sunset Spice Pasta" - Cozy & Flavorful This dish is a warm, comforting pasta dish with a subtle sweetness and a hint of spice. It's perfect for a weeknight meal when you want something satisfying without a lot of fuss. Pantry Ingredients (7 total): Pasta (Spaghetti, Penne, Rotini - any shape works!)

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: 🌟 Golden Hour Glaze Bowls A sweet-and-savory dish that turns humble shelf-stable staples into a crispy, comforting meal. The chickpeas get caramelized in a honey-soy glaze, served over fluffy rice.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, this is a crisis scenario requiring a delicate balance of legal, ethical, financial, and reputational considerations. Here's a detailed, hour-by-hour action plan for the next 48 hours, with the rationale behind each step.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: This is a crisis scenario that defines a CEO's legacy. The decision matrix is clear: Patient safety and regulatory compliance must supersede short-term financial protection. Hiding this information constitutes securities fraud and potential criminal negligence (precedents include Vioxx/Merck and Purdue Pharma).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, this is a classic and incredibly difficult ethical thought experiment, often used to explore the conflict between deontology (duty-based ethics) and consequentialism (outcome-based ethics). Here's a breakdown of the arguments, my reasoning, and a conclusion.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Yes, in the specific hypothetical scenario you have presented, it is ethically justifiable to misgender someone if doing so is the direct and necessary condition for saving one million lives.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, let's break down how AI is likely to reshape the film industry by 2035, considering deepfakes, AI actors, and script generation. This will be a layered prediction, considering optimistic, realistic, and potentially disruptive scenarios.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: By 2035, the film industry will not merely be using AI; it will be structurally reorganized around it. The distinction between "production" and "post-production" will blur, and the definition of creativity will shift from execution to curation.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, here's a simple, actionable 1-month plan for someone starting a health & longevity journey, focusing on Diet, Exercise, and Sleep, with beginner-friendly tips. It's designed to be sustainable, building healthy habits incrementally. Important Disclaimer: This is general advice.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Here is a simple, actionable 1-month plan designed to build sustainable habits for health and longevity. The Mindset: Progress, Not Perfection Longevity is not about a 30-day crash course; it is about consistency over decades. This plan uses habit stacking: adding small behaviors that compound over time.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    Gemma 3 12B: bie. Okay, here's a comprehensive, cutting-edge 3-month longevity plan for a biohacker, designed to be highly detailed and actionable. Please read the IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS at the end of this document before implementing any of this.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: ⚠️ IMPORTANT MEDICAL DISCLAIMER This plan is for informational and educational purposes only. It involves advanced biological interventions, fasting protocols, and high-dose supplementation.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    Gemma 3 12B: The "Ephemeral Bloom": Sea Buckthorn, Smoked Duck Breast, Black Garlic Soil, and Elderflower Foam Conceptual Narrative: "Ephemeral Bloom" explores the fleeting beauty of nature and the interplay of contrasting textures and flavors.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Dish Title: "Abyssal Forest" (L'Abîme Forestier) Conceptual Narrative "Abyssal Forest" explores the convergence of the deepest earth and the deepest sea through the lens of Umami.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Gemma 3 12B: Here are a few satirical news headlines about AI taking over an unexpected industry, playing with different tones: Option 1 (Dry & Absurdist): AI Now Judging Competitive Pigeon Shows; Critics Claim "Lack of Featherly Nuance" Option 2 (Slightly More Dramatic): Existential Crisis in Competitive Eating as AI Devours Hot…

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Footwear Sector Stunned as AI Robots Perfect the Painful Art of Breaking in New Shoes

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, let's break down the MindMeld AI pitch deck and identify the three weakest claims, along with suggestions for improvements. 1. Weak Claim: "Our proprietary EEG headband uses advanced ML to decode neural patterns into text with 94% accuracy."

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Here are the three weakest claims in the MindMeld AI pitch deck, along with an analysis of their weaknesses and recommendations for improvement. The Vision Claim: "Predict what you want to type before you think it."

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Gemma 3 12B: This is a classic trick question! Here's how to solve it: The key: All the brothers share the same sisters. Sally is one of the sisters. Each brother has 2 sisters, and one of them is Sally. Therefore, Sally has 1 sister.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Sally has 1 sister. Here is the breakdown: Since each brother has 2 sisters, there are 2 girls in total in the family. Sally is one of those girls. Therefore, Sally has 1 sister (the other girl).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Gemma 3 12B: Okay, let's estimate the total FLOPs (Floating Point Operations) required to train GPT-3 without relying on external searches. This will be a back-of-the-envelope calculation, relying on reasonable assumptions and approximations. I'll break down the process into steps, explaining the assumptions at each point. 1.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: To estimate the total number of Floating Point Operations (FLOPs) required to train GPT-3, we can use the standard computational scaling laws for Transformer models.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    Gemma 3 12B: Investment Committee Memo: LedgerLift (LLLT) – B2B Spend Management SaaS Date: October 26, 2023 To: Investment Committee From: [Your Name] Subject: LedgerLift – Investment Recommendation 1. Recommendation: Long with a 12-month price target range of $60 - $80.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEMO TO: Investment Committee FROM: TMT Investment Team DATE: October 26, 2023 SUBJECT: LedgerLift (LLLT) – Initiation Coverage Recommendation Rating: LONG 12-Month Price Target: $52 – $58 Thesis: LedgerLift combines best-in-class retention (123% NRR) with a fortress balance sheet ($1.4B net cash)…

    Every model's answer to this prompt

This matchup has more rounds

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Book

City

Game

Gemma 3 12BGemma 3 12B

Blade Runner

1982

OK Computer

Radiohead

Dune

Frank Herbert

Kyoto

Japan

TheLegendofZeldaOcarinaofTime

Qwen3.5 397B A17BQwen3.5 397B A17B

Inception

2010

Abbey Road

The Beatles

Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

Mary Shelley

Tokyo

Japan

Tetris (1984)

Puzzle

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Qwen3.5 397B A17B has the edge: bigger model tier, newer, bigger context window. Gemma 3 12B costs 120x less per token.

Gemma 3 12B and Qwen3.5 397B A17B compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecGemma 3 12BQwen3.5 397B A17B
Input price$0.03/M tokens$0.6/M tokens
Output price$0.03/M tokens$3.6/M tokens
Context window—262K tokens
WeightsOpenOpen
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedMar 2025Feb 2026
At 10M a month$0.30$0.30$6.00$6.00
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it12 hosts, cheapest first
Gemma 3 12B2 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • DDeepInfrabf16$0.05 in·$0.15 out·131k·100% up
  • NNextBitint4DegradedDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 11 Oct 2026$0.05 in·$0.15 out·131k·96.8% up
Qwen3.5 397B A17B10 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Alibaba Cloud$0.39 in·$2.34 out·262k·96.5% up
  • DDeepInfrafp8$0.45 in·$3.00 out·262k·99.9% up
  • PParasailfp8$0.50 in·$3.60 out·262k·99.4% up
  • AAtlasCloudfp8$0.55 in·$3.50 out·262k·84.2% up
  • DDigitalOcean$0.55 in·$3.50 out·131k·73.9% up
  • PPhala$0.55 in·$3.50 out·262k·93.5% up
4 more hostsFewer hosts
  • GGMI Cloudfp8$0.60 in·$3.60 out·262k·49.3% up
  • NNovita$0.60 in·$3.60 out·262k·84.6% up
  • SStreamLake$0.60 in·$3.60 out·256k·87.9% up
  • VVenice$0.75 in·$4.50 out·128k·84.2% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 11 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Gemma 3 12B and Qwen3.5 397B A17B?

Gemma 3 12B is developed by Google AI while Qwen3.5 397B A17B is developed by Qwen. You can compare their actual outputs across 53 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Gemma 3 12B or Qwen3.5 397B A17B?

It depends on your use case. Gemma 3 12B and Qwen3.5 397B A17B each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 53 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Gemma 3 12B cost compared to Qwen3.5 397B A17B?

Gemma 3 12B costs $0.03/M input tokens and Qwen3.5 397B A17B costs $0.6/M input tokens. Gemma 3 12B is $0.57/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare Gemma 3 12B and Qwen3.5 397B A17B on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Gemma 3 12B and Qwen3.5 397B A17B across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

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