Model comparison
Gemma 3 12B vs Step 2 16k Exp 202412
Step 2 16k Exp 202412 is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.2 to 32.1 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 11 shared benchmarks.
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StepFunSummary
- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. Gemma 3 12B scores higher in 3 categories and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 in 5 categories; 6 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in math, where Step 2 16k Exp 202412 leads 36.3 to 22.3.
- Gemma 3 12B has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.
Side by side
| Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | StepFun | |
| Noometry Index | 32.1 | 39.2 |
| Released | 2025-03-12 | — |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| Context window | 131K | — |
| Max output | 8K | — |
| Input $ / M tokens | $0.05 | — |
| Output $ / M tokens | $0.15 | — |
| Results tracked | 24 | 12 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 2 16k Exp 202412 leads
Gemma 3 12B: 31.7 (#280), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 38.5 (#174)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1281 | 1316 |
| SciCode | 17.4% | — |
Agentic & Tool Use Not comparable
Gemma 3 12B: 25.5 (#108), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: —
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard | 30.4% | — |
Reasoning Step 2 16k Exp 202412 leads
Gemma 3 12B: 15.7 (#313), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 25.9 (#142)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1309 | 1299 |
| CritPt | 0% | — |
| Chess Puzzles | 0% | — |
| DTBench | 48.8% | — |
| LMCA | 4.5% | — |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 123.5 | — |
Math Step 2 16k Exp 202412 leads
Gemma 3 12B: 22.3 (#279), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 36.3 (#169)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1307 | 1304 |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 16.7% | — |
Knowledge Step 2 16k Exp 202412 leads
Gemma 3 12B: 26.5 (#257), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 35.2 (#187)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1248 | 1279 |
| GPQA Diamond | 39.5% | — |
| Vectara Hallucination Rate | 4.4% | — |
Multimodal Not comparable
Gemma 3 12B: —, Step 2 16k Exp 202412: —
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| MindCube | 46.7% | — |
Multilingual Gemma 3 12B leads
Gemma 3 12B: 45.7 (#165), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 43.7 (#181)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1318 | 1290 |
| LMArena Russian | 1335 | 1324 |
| LMArena Chinese | — | 1331 |
| LMArena German | 1370 | — |
Instruction Following Too close to call
Gemma 3 12B: 68.6 (#186), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 67.9 (#192)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1299 | 1287 |
Long Context Too close to call
Gemma 3 12B: 40.0 (#162), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 39.7 (#170)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1317 | 1307 |
Writing & Preference Step 2 16k Exp 202412 leads
Gemma 3 12B: 47.5 (#209), Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 52.3 (#173)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1334 | 1321 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1331 | 1328 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1334 | 1292 |
| EQ-Bench Creative Writing | 1126 | — |
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemma 3 12B better than Step 2 16k Exp 202412?
Step 2 16k Exp 202412 is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.2 to 32.1 on the Noometry Index.
Is Gemma 3 12B or Step 2 16k Exp 202412 better for coding?
Step 2 16k Exp 202412 scores higher on coding benchmarks: 38.5 versus 31.7 in the Noometry coding category.
How many benchmarks do Gemma 3 12B and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 share?
11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Gemma 3 12B has 24 scored results on Noometry and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 has 12.