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© 2026 CompareLLM. Public benchmark data aggregated from Arena Elo, LiveBench, SWE-bench & OpenRouter.

Every score has a dated snapshot.

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  3. Google: Gemma 3 12B vs MiniMax M2.5

Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026noindex (thin pair)

Google: Gemma 3 12B vs MiniMax M2.5 benchmark

In this head-to-head showdown, Google: Gemma 3 12B is more budget-friendly at $0.15/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.

Executive Comparison Verdict

Bottom Line: Both Google: Gemma 3 12B and MiniMax M2.5 present distinct architectural strengths. Compare the verified benchmark matrix below to choose the model tailored to your specific application requirements.
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Google
Google: Gemma 3 12B

Auto-discovered from OpenRouter (google/gemma-3-12b-it). Preview until a second source matches.

$0.15/1M out
MiniMax
MiniMax M2.5

MiniMax coding model. Tied near the top of official SWE-bench bash-only in Feb 2026.

Elo 1,478$0.8999999999999999/1M out
Top Rival Showdowns for Google: Gemma 3 12B
All Matchups
Compare vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5vs GPT-5vs Grok 4.6vs DeepSeek V4 Provs Qwen 3 Max
Preference Leader

No shared data

Single model data

Throughput Leader

No shared data

No latency data

Value per Dollar Leader

Google: Gemma 3 12B

$0.15 / 1M output

Capability Percentiles

Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.

Capability Matchup Radar

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.

Tap any node to inspect
Percentile 0–100
Dimensional AdvantageMiniMax M2.5 5/6
Head-to-Head Comparison

Overall Matchup Breakdown

Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.

Google: Gemma 3 12B (2)vsMiniMax M2.5 (8)
Google: Gemma 3 12B: 2W (20%)Overall: MiniMax M2.5MiniMax M2.5: 8W (80%)
← Google: Gemma 3 12BMiniMax M2.5 →
MiniMax M2.5 (5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Preference Elo
—vs1,478
Coding Elo
—vs1,536
SWE-bench
—vs75.8%
LiveBench
—vs64.4%
GPQA Diamond
—vs76.2%
Google: Gemma 3 12B: 0WMiniMax M2.5: 5W
MiniMax M2.5 (2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Output speed
—vs90 tok/s
Time to first token
—vs250 ms
Google: Gemma 3 12B: 0WMiniMax M2.5: 2W
Google: Gemma 3 12B (2/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Output price
$0.15/1Mvs$0.9/1M
Input price
$0.05/1Mvs$0.22/1M
Context window
131kvs205k
Google: Gemma 3 12B: 2WMiniMax M2.5: 1W

Side-by-Side Benchmark Matrix

Preference Elo
Google: Gemma 3 12B—
MiniMax M2.51,478
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
Coding Elo
Google: Gemma 3 12B—
MiniMax M2.51,536
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
LiveBench
Google: Gemma 3 12B—
MiniMax M2.564.4%
livebench · Aug 17, 2026
SWE-bench
Google: Gemma 3 12B—
MiniMax M2.575.8%
swebench · Aug 17, 2026
GPQA Diamond
Google: Gemma 3 12B—
MiniMax M2.576.2%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Time to first token
Google: Gemma 3 12B—
MiniMax M2.5250 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Output speed
Google: Gemma 3 12B—
MiniMax M2.590 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Input priceGoogle: Gemma 3 12B (+$0.17/1M)
Google: Gemma 3 12B$0.05/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
MiniMax M2.5$0.22/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Output priceGoogle: Gemma 3 12B (+$0.75/1M)
Google: Gemma 3 12B$0.15/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
MiniMax M2.5$0.9/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Context windowMiniMax M2.5 (+74k)
Google: Gemma 3 12B131k
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
MiniMax M2.5205k
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
BenchmarkGoogle: Gemma 3 12BMiniMax M2.5Advantage Delta
Preference Elo—
1,478
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
—
Coding Elo—
1,536
lmarena · Aug 17, 2026
—
LiveBench—
64.4%
livebench · Aug 17, 2026
—
SWE-bench—
75.8%
swebench · Aug 17, 2026
—
GPQA Diamond—
76.2%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
—
Time to first token—
250 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
—
Output speed—
90 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
—
Input price
$0.05/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
$0.22/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Google: Gemma 3 12B (+$0.17/1M)
Output price
$0.15/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
$0.9/1M
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
Google: Gemma 3 12B (+$0.75/1M)
Context window
131k
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
205k
openrouter · Aug 17, 2026
MiniMax M2.5 (+74k)
Interactive Simulator (USD)

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).

Save up to 81% with Google: Gemma 3 12B
Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo
Quick Presets:
Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out
RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)
Google: Gemma 3 12B$4.00 / mo
In: $1.75Out: $2.25
MiniMax M2.5$21.20 / mo
In: $7.7Out: $13.5
Estimated Cost Delta

Google: Gemma 3 12B is estimated to save $17.20/month ($206/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

  • 1
    Google: Gemma 3 12B:Pick Google: Gemma 3 12B when you are optimizing output cost.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsinsufficient data

Need SWE-bench on both sides.

High-volume chatGoogle: Gemma 3 12B

Lower output list price ($0.15/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIinsufficient data

Need TTFT on both sides.

Long-document RAGMiniMax M2.5

Larger window (205k).

Screenshots / visionMiniMax M2.5

MiniMax M2.5 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Target WorkloadRecommended PickEvaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agentsinsufficient dataNeed SWE-bench on both sides.
High-volume chatGoogle: Gemma 3 12BLower output list price ($0.15/1M).
Voice / low-latency UIinsufficient dataNeed TTFT on both sides.
Long-document RAGMiniMax M2.5Larger window (205k).
Screenshots / visionMiniMax M2.5MiniMax M2.5 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news
launchFeb 12, 2026

MiniMax M2.5: the Feb 2026 SWE-bench specialist still on the board

Tied near the top of official SWE-bench bash-only in Feb 2026. Coding lists should still see it.

Community Sentiment

Cast Your Matchup Vote

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CompareLLM Matrix

Verified head-to-head card

LIVE
VS
Google

Google: Gemma 3 12B

Elo n/a
LiveBench—
SWE-bench—
Speed—
Output cost$0.15/1M
MiniMax

MiniMax M2.5

Elo 1,478
LiveBench64.4%
SWE-bench75.8%
Speed90 tok/s
Output cost$0.9/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, Google: Gemma 3 12B or MiniMax M2.5?
We do not have preference Elo for both models, so we do not declare an overall winner. Compare the metrics that exist.
Which is better at coding, Google: Gemma 3 12B or MiniMax M2.5?
SWE-bench is missing for at least one model, so we do not rank coding from a single number.
Which is cheaper to run in production?
Google: Gemma 3 12B output tokens are $0.15/1M versus $0.9/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, Google: Gemma 3 12B or MiniMax M2.5?
We do not have TTFT for both models.
Which has the larger context window?
MiniMax M2.5 accepts 205k tokens versus 131k.
Can I self-host either model?
MiniMax M2.5 is marked open-weights in our catalog. The other side is a closed API. Check the provider license before you ship weights.
Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?
No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.
What does preference Elo mean on this page?
Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. Google: Gemma 3 12B and MiniMax M2.5 Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Related news

  • launch · Feb 12, 2026

    MiniMax M2.5: the Feb 2026 SWE-bench specialist still on the board

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All Google: Gemma 3 12B matchups →|All MiniMax M2.5 matchups →
Gemini 3 Pro vs MiniMax M2.5Gemini 3 Flash vs MiniMax M2.5Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking vs MiniMax M2.5Gemini 3.6 Pro vs MiniMax M2.5Gemini 3.6 Flash vs MiniMax M2.5Gemini 3.7 Flash vs MiniMax M2.5