Model comparison
Gemma 3 12B vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 32.1 on the Noometry Index. Gemma 3 12B costs 2.0× less per token, which makes it the better buy when Step 3.5 Flash's lead doesn't matter for your workload.
Last verified . 12 shared benchmarks.
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StepFunSummary
- They share 12 benchmarks with published results for both. Gemma 3 12B scores higher in 0 categories and Step 3.5 Flash in 8 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in math, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 42.6 to 22.3.
- Gemma 3 12B is cheaper at $0.05 / $0.15 per million input/output tokens, against $0.10 / $0.30 for Step 3.5 Flash.
- Step 3.5 Flash accepts more context: 256K tokens versus 131K.
Side by side
| Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | StepFun | |
| Noometry Index | 32.1 | 42.3 |
| Released | 2025-03-12 | 2026-01-29 |
| Weights | Open | Open |
| Context window | 131K | 256K |
| Max output | 8K | 256K |
| Input $ / M tokens | $0.05 | $0.10 |
| Output $ / M tokens | $0.15 | $0.30 |
| Results tracked | 24 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemma 3 12B: 31.7 (#280), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1281 | 1436 |
| SciCode | 17.4% | — |
Agentic & Tool Use Not comparable
Gemma 3 12B: 25.5 (#108), Step 3.5 Flash: —
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard | 30.4% | — |
Reasoning Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemma 3 12B: 15.7 (#313), Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1309 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
| CritPt | 0% | — |
| Chess Puzzles | 0% | — |
| DTBench | 48.8% | — |
| LMCA | 4.5% | — |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 123.5 | — |
Math Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemma 3 12B: 22.3 (#279), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1307 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 16.7% | — |
Knowledge Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemma 3 12B: 26.5 (#257), Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1248 | 1421 |
| GPQA Diamond | 39.5% | — |
| Vectara Hallucination Rate | 4.4% | — |
Multimodal Not comparable
Gemma 3 12B: —, Step 3.5 Flash: —
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| MindCube | 46.7% | — |
Multilingual Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemma 3 12B: 45.7 (#165), Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1318 | 1385 |
| LMArena German | 1370 | 1405 |
| LMArena Russian | 1335 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | — | 1447 |
| LMArena French | — | 1421 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1352 |
| LMArena Spanish | — | 1419 |
Instruction Following Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemma 3 12B: 68.6 (#186), Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1299 | 1385 |
Long Context Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemma 3 12B: 40.0 (#162), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1317 | 1402 |
Writing & Preference Step 3.5 Flash leads
Gemma 3 12B: 47.5 (#209), Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)
| Benchmark | Gemma 3 12B | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1334 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1331 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1334 | 1405 |
| EQ-Bench Creative Writing | 1126 | — |
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemma 3 12B better than Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 32.1 on the Noometry Index. Gemma 3 12B costs 2.0× less per token, which makes it the better buy when Step 3.5 Flash's lead doesn't matter for your workload.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 12B or Step 3.5 Flash?
Gemma 3 12B is cheaper. It lists at $0.05 per million input tokens and $0.15 per million output tokens; Step 3.5 Flash lists at $0.10 and $0.30.
Is Gemma 3 12B or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?
Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 31.7 in the Noometry coding category.
Which has the bigger context window?
Step 3.5 Flash does, with 256K tokens against 131K.
How many benchmarks do Gemma 3 12B and Step 3.5 Flash share?
12 benchmarks have published results for both models. Gemma 3 12B has 24 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.