Llama 3.1 8B vs Gemma 3 12B
Comparing VRAM requirements, performance, and capabilities for running these models locally with Ollama.
Parameters
8B
Context
128K
VRAM Range
6.3–18 GB
Recommended
Q8_0 (10 GB)
ByMeta·LicenseLlama 3.1 Community License
Parameters
12B
Context
128K
VRAM Range
10.5–28 GB
Recommended
Q4_K_M (10.5 GB)
ByGoogle·LicenseGemma Terms of Use
VRAM Requirements by Quantization
Side-by-side memory needs at each quality level.
| Quantization | Llama 3.1 8B | Gemma 3 12B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_M | 6.3 GB | 10.5 GB | -4.2 GB |
| Q8_0 | 10 GB | 16 GB | -6.0 GB |
| F16 | 18 GB | 28 GB | -10.0 GB |
Capabilities
Feature support comparison.
| Capability | Llama 3.1 8B | Gemma 3 12B |
|---|---|---|
| text generation | Yes | Yes |
| code generation | Yes | Yes |
| multilingual | Yes | Yes |
| tool use | Yes | — |
| summarization | Yes | Yes |
| reasoning | — | Yes |
| vision | — | Yes |
| math | — | Yes |
Benchmark Scores
Higher is better. Scores from published evaluations.
| Benchmark | Llama 3.1 8B | Gemma 3 12B |
|---|---|---|
| mmlu | 73.0 | 76.0 |
Hardware Compatibility
Can each model run at recommended quantization on common VRAM tiers?
| VRAM | Llama 3.1 8B | Gemma 3 12B |
|---|---|---|
| 8 GB | Offload | Offload |
| 12 GB | Runs | Tight |
| 16 GB | Runs | Runs |
| 24 GB | Runs | Runs |
| 32 GB | Runs | Runs |
| 48 GB | Runs | Runs |
| 64 GB | Runs | Runs |
| 96 GB | Runs | Runs |
Run Llama 3.1 8B
ollama run llama3.1:8b-instruct-q8_0Run Gemma 3 12B
ollama run gemma3:12b-it-q4_K_MCheck your exact hardware
Use the compatibility checker to see how each model performs on your specific GPU or Mac.