Gemma 4 26B A4B is $0.02 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Gemma 3 27B
Pick Gemma 3 27B for lower cost; pick Gemma 4 26B A4B only if the larger context window matters more.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Gemma 3 27B for lower cost; pick Gemma 4 26B A4B only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 3 27B is estimated at $0.16 vs $0.23 for Gemma 4 26B A4B, saving $0.07 (28.9% lower).
Cost-first pickGemma 3 27B
Context-first pickGemma 4 26B A4B
Sample savings$0.0728.9%
10x traffic gap$0.65
Gemma 4 26B A4B has more context, but Gemma 3 27B saves $0.07 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.65. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Gemma 4 26B A4B, balanced workload favors Gemma 3 27B, and output-heavy chatbot favors Gemma 3 27B.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Gemma 4 26B A4B | Gemma 3 27B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Gemma 4 26B A4B | $0.46 | $0.48 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Gemma 3 27B | $0.39 | $0.24 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Gemma 3 27B | $1.71 | $0.88 |
Gemma 3 27B is $0.17 cheaper per 1M output tokens (51.5% lower; 2.06x difference).
Gemma 4 26B A4B has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
Gemma 3 27B is $0.07 cheaper on the standard workload (28.9% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
Gemma 4 26B A4B has the lower input price; Gemma 3 27B has the lower output price; Gemma 4 26B A4B offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Gemma 3 27B is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.23 for Gemma 4 26B A4B and $0.16 for Gemma 3 27B.
Choose Gemma 4 26B A4B when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.
Choose Gemma 3 27B when you care most about lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 3 27B is estimated at $0.16 vs $0.23 for Gemma 4 26B A4B, saving $0.07 (28.9% lower).
- Gemma 3 27B is $0.07 cheaper on the standard workload (28.9% lower).
- Gemma 4 26B A4B is $0.02 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
- Gemma 3 27B is $0.17 cheaper per 1M output tokens (51.5% lower; 2.06x difference).
- Gemma 4 26B A4B has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
| Feature | Gemma 4 26B A4B (Google) | Gemma 3 27B (Google) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.06 | $0.08 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.33 | $0.16 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.23 | $0.16 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 131.07K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #30 | #86 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Gemma 3 27B | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 3 27B is estimated at $0.16 vs $0.23 for Gemma 4 26B A4B, saving $0.07 (28.9% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Gemma 4 26B A4B | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Gemma 3 27B | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Gemma 4 26B A4B | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Gemma 4 26B A4B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Gemma 4 26B A4B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Gemma 4 26B A4B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Gemma 4 26B A4B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
- MiMo-V2.5 offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsGoogle catalog
Review all tracked Google models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Google modelsGemma 4 26B A4B IT is an instruction-tuned Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) model from Google DeepMind. Despite 25.2B total parameters, only 3.8B activate per token during inference — delivering near-31B quality at...
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,...