# Gemma 3 4B vs Step 2 16k Exp 202412

> Step 2 16k Exp 202412 is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.2 to 28.1 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/gemma-3-4b-vs-step-2-16k-exp-202412
- Last updated: 2026-10-10
- Shared benchmarks: 11

## Summary

- They share 11 benchmarks with published results for both. Gemma 3 4B 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 knowledge, where Step 2 16k Exp 202412 leads 35.2 to 11.8.
- Gemma 3 4B has downloadable open weights; the other is API-only.

## Snapshot

| | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Google | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 28.1 | 39.2 |
| Rank | 326 | 171 |
| Context | 131K | — |
| Input $/M | $0.04 | — |
| Output $/M | $0.08 | — |
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |

## Coding

- Gemma 3 4B: 35.9 (#215)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 38.5 (#174)

| Benchmark | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1230 | 1316 |

## Agentic & Tool Use

- Gemma 3 4B: 20.9 (#142)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: —

| Benchmark | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Function Calling Leaderboard | 19.6% | — |

## Reasoning

- Gemma 3 4B: 13.2 (#335)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 25.9 (#142)

| Benchmark | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1253 | 1299 |
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 25.2% | — |
| Chess Puzzles | 0% | — |
| DTBench | 50.9% | — |
| LMCA | 2.8% | — |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 116.02 | — |

## Math

- Gemma 3 4B: 16.8 (#292)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 36.3 (#169)

| Benchmark | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1239 | 1304 |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024-2025 | 7.5% | — |

## Knowledge

- Gemma 3 4B: 11.8 (#299)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 35.2 (#187)

| Benchmark | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1223 | 1279 |
| GPQA Diamond | 23.2% | — |
| Vectara Hallucination Rate | 6.4% | — |

## Multilingual

- Gemma 3 4B: 42.5 (#194)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 43.7 (#181)

| Benchmark | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1273 | 1290 |
| LMArena Russian | 1294 | 1324 |
| LMArena Chinese | — | 1331 |
| LMArena German | 1281 | — |

## Instruction Following

- Gemma 3 4B: 65.2 (#225)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 67.9 (#192)

| Benchmark | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1239 | 1287 |

## Long Context

- Gemma 3 4B: 38.7 (#194)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 39.7 (#170)

| Benchmark | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1273 | 1307 |

## Writing & Preference

- Gemma 3 4B: 42.0 (#239)
- Step 2 16k Exp 202412: 52.3 (#173)

| Benchmark | Gemma 3 4B | Step 2 16k Exp 202412 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1291 | 1321 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1271 | 1328 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1255 | 1292 |
| EQ-Bench Creative Writing | 1068 | — |

## FAQ

### Is Gemma 3 4B better than Step 2 16k Exp 202412?

Step 2 16k Exp 202412 is the stronger model overall, scoring 39.2 to 28.1 on the Noometry Index.

### Is Gemma 3 4B or Step 2 16k Exp 202412 better for coding?

Step 2 16k Exp 202412 scores higher on coding benchmarks: 38.5 versus 35.9 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do Gemma 3 4B and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 share?

11 benchmarks have published results for both models. Gemma 3 4B has 22 scored results on Noometry and Step 2 16k Exp 202412 has 12.