# Gemma 2 9B vs Step 2 16k Exp 202412

> Step 2 16k Exp 202412 is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.2 to 25.9 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/gemma-2-9b-vs-step-2-16k-exp-202412
- Last updated: 2026-10-12
- Shared benchmarks: 12

## Summary

- They share 12 benchmarks with published results for both. Gemma 2 9B scores higher in 0 categories and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 in 8 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in math, where Step 2 16k Exp 202412 leads 36.3 to 9.9.
- Gemma 2 9B has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

## Snapshot

| | Gemma 2 9B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Google | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 25.9 | 39.2 |
| Rank | 341 | 171 |
| Context | — | — |
| Input $/M | — | — |
| Output $/M | — | — |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |

## Coding

- Gemma 2 9B: 29.4 (#304)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 38.5 (#174)

| Benchmark | Gemma 2 9B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1173 | 1316 |
| BigCodeBench Instruct | 34.7% | — |
| LiveBench Coding | 22.5% | — |
| BigCodeBench Complete | 40.6% | — |

## Reasoning

- Gemma 2 9B: 15.9 (#309)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 25.9 (#142)

| Benchmark | Gemma 2 9B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1171 | 1299 |
| LiveBench Reasoning | 15.2% | — |
| LiveBench Data Analysis | 36.4% | — |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 119.83 | — |
| LiveBench | 28.7% | — |
| PIQA | 83.7% | — |

## Math

- Gemma 2 9B: 9.9 (#318)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 36.3 (#169)

| Benchmark | Gemma 2 9B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1183 | 1304 |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 0.6% | — |
| LiveBench Math | 19.8% | — |
| MATH Level 5 | 21% | — |
| GSM8K | 84.9% | — |

## Knowledge

- Gemma 2 9B: 9.7 (#305)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 35.2 (#187)

| Benchmark | Gemma 2 9B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1147 | 1279 |
| GPQA Diamond | 27.5% | — |
| BoolQ | 85.7% | — |
| MMLU | 72.1% | — |

## Multilingual

- Gemma 2 9B: 36.6 (#238)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 43.7 (#181)

| Benchmark | Gemma 2 9B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1188 | 1290 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1185 | 1331 |
| LMArena Russian | 1200 | 1324 |
| LMArena French | 1190 | — |
| LMArena German | 1186 | — |
| LMArena Japanese | 1144 | — |
| LMArena Korean | 1137 | — |
| LMArena Spanish | 1200 | — |

## Instruction Following

- Gemma 2 9B: 57.6 (#269)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 67.9 (#192)

| Benchmark | Gemma 2 9B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1178 | 1287 |
| LiveBench Instruction Following | 52.6% | — |

## Long Context

- Gemma 2 9B: 36.3 (#233)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 39.7 (#170)

| Benchmark | Gemma 2 9B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1197 | 1307 |

## Writing & Preference

- Gemma 2 9B: 32.1 (#281)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 52.3 (#173)

| Benchmark | Gemma 2 9B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1207 | 1321 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1206 | 1328 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1193 | 1292 |
| EQ-Bench Creative Writing | 841 | — |
| LiveBench Language | 25.5% | — |

## FAQ

### Is Gemma 2 9B better than Step 2 16k Exp 202412?

Step 2 16k Exp 202412 is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.2 to 25.9 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Gemma 2 9B or Step 2 16k Exp 202412 better for coding?

Step 2 16k Exp 202412 scores higher on coding benchmarks: 38.5 versus 29.4 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Gemma 2 9B and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 share?

12 benchmarks have published results for both models. Gemma 2 9B has 35 scored results on Noometry and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 has 12.