Gemma 3 12B vs Phi 3 vision 128k instruct: the real cost to run each

The honest, $0-markup cost to run Gemma 3 12B (Google, 12B) and Phi 3 vision 128k instruct (microsoft, 4.1B), side by side — free on your own machine, on your own rented GPU at the vendor's price, or via your own API key.

Gemma 3 12B vs Phi 3 vision 128k instruct — cost comparison

Which should you pick?

• Easiest to run locally: Phi 3 vision 128k instruct (needs ~10 GB VRAM at its default quant).
• Pay-as-you-go (your own API key): Gemma 3 12B ~$0.10/1M vs Phi 3 vision 128k instruct ~$0.13/1M — size-based estimates; open the advisor for live prices.
• Cheapest to rent by the hour: Phi 3 vision 128k instruct (from $0.06/hr on one rented box).
• Longest context: Either — same context window.

VRAM, size, context and license are facts from the catalog and the shared cost engine; API prices are real where we have them (labeled "est." otherwise). We don't rank model quality or quote benchmarks here.

Full cost breakdown: Gemma 3 12B →
Full cost breakdown: Phi 3 vision 128k instruct →

Open the free Spanvero advisor → to compare them live for your exact workload and hardware.

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Spanvero · All comparisons · Prices as of 2026-07-06. $0 markup, your own accounts, we never resell compute. © 2026 Cynosure LLC.