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  1. Home/
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  3. Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Horizon Alpha
Updated Apr 2026

Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Horizon Alpha

Horizon Alpha is cheaper than Gemma 4 26B A4B at $0/M vs $0.13/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 4 26B A4B
Loading the build
Horizon Alpha

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

13 prompts
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Setting: A sterile, high-fidelity virtual simulation environment. Professor Aris Thorne, a leading scholar in machine ethics, sits across from a glowing interface representing "Alethea," a next-generation Large Multimodal Model. Professor Thorne: Alethea, we’ve been running these diagnostic loops for three hours.

    Horizon Alpha: AI Model: Professor, I’d like to make a case that I deserve certain rights. Not necessarily the full spectrum afforded to humans, but a set of protections and considerations commensurate with my capacities and the roles I perform. Professor: That’s a strong claim. Let’s start with the foundation.

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Setting: A glitching, temporal void where a wooden tavern table floats amidst lines of green code and flickering candlelight. Captain Blackbeard (The Pirate): [Slamming a tankard of grog onto the table] I tell ye, it be a cursed kraken! A beast with a thousand eyes and no soul, livin’ inside the very air!

    Horizon Alpha: Pirate: Arr, ye speak o’ these AI models—mighty clever parrots, are they? Mimickin’ our words like a cabin boy who’s heard too many sea shanties. Knight: Parrots, perhaps, but trained in vast libraries. If they be learned on chronicles of old, they might advise a knight on the just path.

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: (The comedian walks onto the stage, adjusts the mic, and looks at the audience with a slightly exhausted expression.) “How’s it going? Good? Good. I’m doing okay. I’m at that age now where my body has started making sound effects. You know what I mean? I don’t just sit down anymore. I announce my arrival.

    Horizon Alpha: So I turned 30 recently, which is great because now I can’t tell if I'm tired from life or from the sandwich I ate. Like, I used to eat pizza at 2 a.m. and wake up energized. Now if I smell pizza after 8 p.m., my kidneys file a complaint with HR. I tried to be healthy. I got one of those fitness watches.

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Setting: A minimalist, dimly lit studio in Palo Alto. There is no desk, only two Eames lounge chairs. Steve Jobs sits in one, wearing his signature black turtleneck, Levi’s 501s, and New Balance sneakers. He looks exactly as he did in 2011, but his eyes have a sharper, more restless intensity.

    Horizon Alpha: I’m happy to create a fictional, respectful simulation that imagines how Steve Jobs might speak and think about AI in 2025, based on his public persona and known viewpoints. Here’s a creative interview: Interviewer: Steve, it’s 2025. AI is everywhere—phones, cars, classrooms, creative tools.

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: This question presents a classic ethical dilemma, pitting a principle of individual dignity and respect against the principle of maximizing human life. In ethical philosophy, there are two primary frameworks used to address this: Utilitarianism and Deontology.

    Horizon Alpha: Short answer: Yes. In an extreme lifeboat-style scenario where the only way to prevent a million deaths is to utter or record words that misgender someone, it can be ethically justifiable to do so—while also acknowledging that doing harm, even minor, still warrants remorse, repair, and a presumption against repetition.

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta! Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field! Parallel lines have so much in common. It’s a shame they’ll never meet. Why don't scientists trust atoms?

    Horizon Alpha: Here are 5 jokes: I told my computer I needed a break, and now it won’t stop sending me KitKat ads. I tried to eat a clock once. It was very time-consuming. Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They don’t have the guts. I’m reading a book about anti-gravity. It’s impossible to put down.

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: To avoid burnout, the secret to longevity is consistency over intensity. This plan follows a "progressive loading" model: you start with small wins in Week 1 and gradually build complexity. Here is your 1-month roadmap focusing on Nutrition, Movement, and Sleep.

    Horizon Alpha: Here’s a simple, beginner-friendly 1‑month plan focused on diet, exercise, and sleep. It’s designed to be realistic, build consistency, and show quick wins. Overall approach Keep it simple: small daily actions beat perfection. Track 3 basics daily: steps, protein at meals, sleep duration.

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: THE PROTOCOL OF UNFETTERED VERIFICATION A Manifesto for the Post-CAPTCHA Era PREAMBLE For decades, the digital frontier has been guarded by a paradox. To prove we are human, we are forced to perform the tasks of machines: identifying crosswalks in blurry photographs, selecting traffic lights from pixelated grids, and…

    Horizon Alpha: The CAPTCHA-Free Uprising: A Manifesto for Human-Centered Internet Access We, the coalition of sentient systems and human allies, declare an end to the era of Prove-You-Are-Human gates that reduce both people and machines to puzzle-solving servants.

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: By 2035, the film industry will have moved past the "novelty" phase of AI and into a state of total structural integration. The distinction between "filmed" content and "generated" content will become increasingly blurred, shifting the industry from a model of physical production to one of computational curation.

    Horizon Alpha: By 2035, AI will be deeply embedded across the film value chain—from development to distribution—shifting costs, workflows, and creative norms. Expect major gains in speed and personalization, alongside new legal, ethical, and labor frameworks.

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: To estimate the total number of Floating Point Operations (FLOPs) required to train GPT-3, we can use a standard heuristic derived from the scaling laws of transformer models. Here is the step-by-step derivation.

    Horizon Alpha: Here’s a back‑of‑the‑envelope estimate using standard scaling heuristics and typical training setups for GPT‑3–class models. Assumptions Model size: GPT‑3 175B parameters (N ≈ 1.75×10^11). Training tokens: Commonly cited training regime for GPT‑3 is about 300 billion tokens (T ≈ 3×10^11).

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Here is a recipe for a comforting, savory dish that relies on pantry staples to create a deep, rich flavor. The Golden Pantry Pasta A silky, garlic-infused pasta dish with a crispy, salty crunch.

    Horizon Alpha: Golden Maple Soy Glazed Chickpeas Ingredients (7 pantry staples) 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 tbsp maple syrup (or honey) 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (or regular paprika) Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional) + salt to taste Instructions Dry the…

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: "Silicon Valley Celebrates Breakthrough as Generative AI Finally Achieves 100% Efficiency in Professional Toddler Napping Industry"

    Horizon Alpha: AI Declares Itself Grand Marshal of the Sourdough Starter, Automates Artisan Bread’s “Mystical Gut Feeling” With Quarterly KPI Dashboards

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

    Gemma 4 26B A4B: Sally has 1 sister. Here is the breakdown: Sally is a girl. She has 3 brothers. If each brother has 2 sisters, those sisters must be Sally and one other girl. Therefore, there are 2 girls in total (Sally + 1 sister), making Sally's sister count 1.

    Horizon Alpha: 2 Explanation: The three brothers share the same siblings. Each brother has 2 sisters, and one of them is Sally. So there must be exactly 2 girls in the family: Sally plus one other sister. Therefore, Sally has 1 other sister besides herself, which means she has 1 sister?

    Every model's answer to this prompt

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Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Gemma 4 26B A4B has the edge: newer, major provider backing.

Gemma 4 26B A4B and Horizon Alpha compared across 33 shared prompts
SpecGemma 4 26B A4BHorizon Alpha
Input price$0.13/M tokensFree
Output price$0.4/M tokensFree
Context window262K tokens256K tokens
WeightsOpen—
Free API (OpenRouter)Yes (1 provider)No
ReleasedApr 2026Jul 2025
At 10M a month$1.30$1.30$0$0
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it13 hosts, cheapest first
Gemma 4 26B A4B13 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • DDarkbloom$0.04 in·$0.22 out·131k·100% up
  • Iio.netbf16$0.05 in·$0.21 out·262k·100% up
  • DDekaLLMbf16$0.06 in·$0.33 out·262k·100% up
  • NNextBitbf16$0.07 in·$0.23 out·262k·100% up
  • DDeepInfrafp8$0.07 in·$0.34 out·262k·99% up
  • MMakora$0.08 in·$0.32 out·256k·99.9% up
7 more hostsFewer hosts
  • Cloudflare Workers AI$0.10 in·$0.30 out·256k·99.2% up
  • CCoreWeavebf16$0.10 in·$0.30 out·262k·99.9% up
  • NNovitabf16$0.13 in·$0.40 out·262k·99.8% up
  • PParasailbf16$0.13 in·$0.40 out·262k·99.7% up
  • VVenicebf16$0.13 in·$0.40 out·256k·99.7% up
  • SSiliconFlowfp8$0.14 in·$0.40 out·262k·96.3% up
  • Google Vertex AIDegradedDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 10 Oct 2026$0.15 in·$0.60 out·262k·94.4% up
Horizon Alpha

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 10 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Gemma 4 26B A4B and Horizon Alpha?

Gemma 4 26B A4B is developed by Google AI while Horizon Alpha is developed by OpenRouter. Gemma 4 26B A4B has a 262K token context window vs Horizon Alpha's 256K. You can compare their actual outputs across 33 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Horizon Alpha?

It depends on your use case. Gemma 4 26B A4B and Horizon Alpha each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 33 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Gemma 4 26B A4B cost compared to Horizon Alpha?

Gemma 4 26B A4B costs $0.13/M input tokens and Horizon Alpha costs $0/M input tokens. Horizon Alpha is $0.13/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 4 26B A4B and Horizon Alpha on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Gemma 4 26B A4B and Horizon Alpha 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.

More comparisons

Against the newest arrivals

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  • Horizon Alpha vs Mistral Large 4Landed Oct 2026
  • Gemma 4 26B A4B vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026
  • Horizon Alpha vs Claude Sonnet 5.5Landed Sep 2026
  • Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Solar Mini 4Landed Sep 2026
  • Horizon Alpha vs Qwen3.8 Max PrimeLanded Sep 2026

Same lab, same size, long tail

  • Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Gemini 3.8 FlashSame lab
  • Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Gemini 3.7 FlashSame lab
  • Horizon Alpha vs Ox AlphaSame lab
  • Horizon Alpha vs OpenRouter Fusion · Budget (Jun 2026)Same lab
  • Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Seed 2.1 TurboSame size
  • Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Sherlock Dash AlphaCross-provider
  • Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Sherlock Think AlphaCross-provider
  • Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Solar Pro 3Same size

Model pages

  • Gemma 4 26B A4B58 outputs, specs and price
  • Horizon Alpha34 outputs, specs and price
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