Llama 3.2 3B vs Gemma 3 4B
Comparing VRAM requirements, performance, and capabilities for running these models locally with Ollama.
Parameters
3B
Context
128K
VRAM Range
3.3–8 GB
Recommended
Q8_0 (5 GB)
ByMeta·LicenseLlama 3.2 Community License
Parameters
4B
Context
128K
VRAM Range
5–11.5 GB
Recommended
Q4_K_M (5 GB)
ByGoogle·LicenseGemma Terms of Use
VRAM Requirements by Quantization
Side-by-side memory needs at each quality level.
| Quantization | Llama 3.2 3B | Gemma 3 4B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q4_K_M | 3.3 GB | 5 GB | -1.7 GB |
| Q8_0 | 5 GB | 7.5 GB | -2.5 GB |
| F16 | 8 GB | 11.5 GB | -3.5 GB |
Capabilities
Feature support comparison.
| Capability | Llama 3.2 3B | Gemma 3 4B |
|---|---|---|
| text generation | Yes | Yes |
| code generation | Yes | Yes |
| multilingual | Yes | Yes |
| summarization | Yes | Yes |
| reasoning | — | Yes |
| vision | — | Yes |
Benchmark Scores
Higher is better. Scores from published evaluations.
| Benchmark | Llama 3.2 3B | Gemma 3 4B |
|---|---|---|
| mmlu | 63.4 | 62.0 |
Hardware Compatibility
Can each model run at recommended quantization on common VRAM tiers?
| VRAM | Llama 3.2 3B | Gemma 3 4B |
|---|---|---|
| 8 GB | Runs | Runs |
| 12 GB | Runs | Runs |
| 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 3.2 3B
ollama run llama3.2:3b-instruct-q8_0Run Gemma 3 4B
ollama run gemma3:4b-it-q4_K_MCheck your exact hardware
Use the compatibility checker to see how each model performs on your specific GPU or Mac.