API cost decision in 10 seconds

GPT-5 vs Gemma 3 27B

Pick Gemma 3 27B for lower cost; pick GPT-5 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T18:08:02Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Gemma 3 27B for lower cost; pick GPT-5 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 $6.25 for GPT-5, saving $6.09 (97.4% lower).

Cost-first pickGemma 3 27B

Context-first pickGPT-5

Sample savings$6.0997.4%

10x traffic gap$60.9

GPT-5 has more context, but Gemma 3 27B saves $6.09 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $60.9. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Gemma 3 27B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	GPT-5	Gemma 3 27B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Gemma 3 27B	$11.25	$0.48
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Gemma 3 27B	$11.25	$0.24
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Gemma 3 27B	$51.25	$0.88

Cheaper input Gemma 3 27B $1.25 vs $0.08 / 1M

Gemma 3 27B is $1.17 cheaper per 1M input tokens (93.6% lower; 15.6x difference).

Cheaper output Gemma 3 27B $10 vs $0.16 / 1M

Gemma 3 27B is $9.84 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.4% lower; 62.5x difference).

Larger context GPT-5 400K vs 131.07K

GPT-5 has 268.93K more context (3.05x larger).

Sample workload Gemma 3 27B $6.25 vs $0.16

Gemma 3 27B is $6.09 cheaper on the standard workload (97.4% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

GPT-5 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Gemma 3 27B 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

Gemma 3 27B has the lower input price; Gemma 3 27B has the lower output price; GPT-5 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 $6.25 for GPT-5 and $0.16 for Gemma 3 27B.

Best Fit

Choose GPT-5 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Gemma 3 27B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Gemma 3 27B is estimated at $0.16 vs $6.25 for GPT-5, saving $6.09 (97.4% lower).
Gemma 3 27B is $6.09 cheaper on the standard workload (97.4% lower).
Gemma 3 27B is $1.17 cheaper per 1M input tokens (93.6% lower; 15.6x difference).
Gemma 3 27B is $9.84 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98.4% lower; 62.5x difference).
GPT-5 has 268.93K more context (3.05x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	GPT-5 (OpenAI)	Gemma 3 27B (Google)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1.25	$0.08
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$10	$0.16
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$6.25	$0.16
Context Window	400K	131.07K
Release Date	2025-08-07	2025-03-12
Popularity	#57	#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 $6.25 for GPT-5, saving $6.09 (97.4% lower).
High-volume input processing	Gemma 3 27B	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	GPT-5	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

gpt-oss-120b (free) can replace GPT-5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b (free) can replace GPT-5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
gpt-oss-20b can replace GPT-5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.1.
gpt-oss-120b can replace GPT-5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.13.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

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Provider catalogs

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OpenAI catalog

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Google catalog

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GPT-5

GPT-5 is OpenAI’s most advanced model, offering major improvements in reasoning, code quality, and user experience. It is optimized for complex tasks that require step-by-step reasoning, instruction following, and accuracy...

Gemma 3 27B

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,...