Model comparison
Gemma 2 2b IT vs Nova 2 Lite
Nova 2 Lite is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.7 to 33.1 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 17 shared benchmarks.
GoogleSummary
- They share 17 benchmarks with published results for both. Gemma 2 2b IT scores higher in 0 categories and Nova 2 Lite in 8 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Nova 2 Lite leads 53.9 to 36.5.
- Gemma 2 2b IT has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.
Side by side
| Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Amazon | |
| Noometry Index | 33.1 | 39.7 |
| Released | — | 2025-12-01 |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| Context window | — | 1M |
| Max output | — | 64K |
| Input $ / M tokens | — | $0.30 |
| Output $ / M tokens | — | $2.50 |
| Results tracked | 17 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Nova 2 Lite leads
Gemma 2 2b IT: 32.3 (#273), Nova 2 Lite: 40.7 (#134)
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1112 | 1385 |
Agentic & Tool Use Not comparable
Gemma 2 2b IT: —, Nova 2 Lite: 24.1 (#121)
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard | — | 27.1% |
Reasoning Nova 2 Lite leads
Gemma 2 2b IT: 21.4 (#224), Nova 2 Lite: 27.5 (#118)
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1113 | 1364 |
Math Nova 2 Lite leads
Gemma 2 2b IT: 32.6 (#212), Nova 2 Lite: 37.5 (#156)
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1135 | 1359 |
Knowledge Nova 2 Lite leads
Gemma 2 2b IT: 29.9 (#231), Nova 2 Lite: 43.0 (#94)
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1096 | 1358 |
| Vectara Hallucination Rate | — | 5.1% |
Multilingual Nova 2 Lite leads
Gemma 2 2b IT: 32.3 (#257), Nova 2 Lite: 47.1 (#153)
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1121 | 1337 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1132 | 1364 |
| LMArena French | 1157 | 1381 |
| LMArena German | 1114 | 1343 |
| LMArena Japanese | 1083 | 1271 |
| LMArena Korean | 1055 | 1284 |
| LMArena Russian | 1118 | 1343 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1140 | 1373 |
Instruction Following Nova 2 Lite leads
Gemma 2 2b IT: 57.8 (#263), Nova 2 Lite: 70.5 (#161)
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1118 | 1335 |
Long Context Nova 2 Lite leads
Gemma 2 2b IT: 34.3 (#250), Nova 2 Lite: 40.6 (#150)
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1130 | 1335 |
Writing & Preference Nova 2 Lite leads
Gemma 2 2b IT: 36.5 (#263), Nova 2 Lite: 53.9 (#154)
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 2b IT | Nova 2 Lite |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1156 | 1362 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1147 | 1291 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1118 | 1338 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemma 2 2b IT better than Nova 2 Lite?
Nova 2 Lite is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.7 to 33.1 on the Noometry Index.
Is Gemma 2 2b IT or Nova 2 Lite better for coding?
Nova 2 Lite scores higher on coding benchmarks: 40.7 versus 32.3 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Gemma 2 2b IT and Nova 2 Lite share?
17 benchmarks have published results for both models. Gemma 2 2b IT has 17 scored results on Noometry and Nova 2 Lite has 19.