API cost decision in 10 seconds

Gemma 3 4B vs LFM2-24B-A2B

Pick Gemma 3 4B when budget and context both matter.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-27T02:08:17Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Gemma 3 4B when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 3 4B is estimated at $0.08 vs $0.09 for LFM2-24B-A2B, saving $0.01 (11.1% lower).

Cost-first pickGemma 3 4B

Context-first pickGemma 3 4B

Sample savings$0.0111.1%

10x traffic gap$0.1

Gemma 3 4B is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.1. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors LFM2-24B-A2B, balanced workload favors Gemma 3 4B, and output-heavy chatbot favors Gemma 3 4B.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Gemma 3 4B	LFM2-24B-A2B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	LFM2-24B-A2B	$0.24	$0.21
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Gemma 3 4B	$0.12	$0.15
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Gemma 3 4B	$0.44	$0.63

Cheaper input LFM2-24B-A2B $0.04 vs $0.03 / 1M

LFM2-24B-A2B is $0.01 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).

Cheaper output Gemma 3 4B $0.08 vs $0.12 / 1M

Gemma 3 4B is $0.04 cheaper per 1M output tokens (33.3% lower; 1.5x difference).

Larger context Gemma 3 4B 131.07K vs 128K

Gemma 3 4B has 3.07K more context (1.02x larger).

Sample workload Gemma 3 4B $0.08 vs $0.09

Gemma 3 4B is $0.01 cheaper on the standard workload (11.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Gemma 3 4B Calculating… Estimated API cost

LFM2-24B-A2B Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

LFM2-24B-A2B has the lower input price; Gemma 3 4B has the lower output price; Gemma 3 4B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Gemma 3 4B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.08 for Gemma 3 4B and $0.09 for LFM2-24B-A2B.

Best Fit

Choose Gemma 3 4B when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose LFM2-24B-A2B when you care most about lower input-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 3 4B is estimated at $0.08 vs $0.09 for LFM2-24B-A2B, saving $0.01 (11.1% lower).
Gemma 3 4B is $0.01 cheaper on the standard workload (11.1% lower).
LFM2-24B-A2B is $0.01 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
Gemma 3 4B is $0.04 cheaper per 1M output tokens (33.3% lower; 1.5x difference).
Gemma 3 4B has 3.07K more context (1.02x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Gemma 3 4B (Google)	LFM2-24B-A2B (LiquidAI)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.04	$0.03
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.08	$0.12
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.08	$0.09
Context Window	131.07K	128K
Release Date	2025-03-13	2026-02-25
Popularity	#93	#118

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Gemma 3 4B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 3 4B is estimated at $0.08 vs $0.09 for LFM2-24B-A2B, saving $0.01 (11.1% lower).
High-volume input processing	LFM2-24B-A2B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Gemma 3 4B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Gemma 3 4B	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Gemma 3 4B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Gemma 3 4B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Gemma 3 4B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Gemma 3 4B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #1
DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #2
Hy3 preview · Tencent · #3
Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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Google catalog

Review all tracked Google models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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LiquidAI catalog

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Gemma 3 introduces multimodality, supporting vision-language input and text outputs. It handles context windows up to 128k tokens, understands over 140 languages, and offers improved math, reasoning, and chat capabilities,...

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