# Gemma 4 12B IT vs LFM3-VL-2B (slim)

> Gemma 4 12B IT scores 72.3 (BB) to LFM3-VL-2B's 61 (C) for open-weight models you run yourself. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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Gemma 4 12B IT scores 72.3 (BB) on agent readiness against LFM3-VL-2B's 61 (C), and leads in 3 of 4 scored categories. LFM3-VL-2B leads on agent interface. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- Gemma 4 12B IT: BB 72.3, rank #4 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/gemma-4-12b-it.min.md
- LFM3-VL-2B: C 61, rank #72 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lfm3-vl-2b.min.md
- Gemma 4 12B IT, good for Agents on a 12 GB or larger GPU or Mac that want a permissively licensed tool-calling model with images, audio and long context Ahead on Reach, 95 against 85; Risk, 70 against 40; Documentation and upkeep, 85 against 77. Also Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better.
- LFM3-VL-2B, good for Agents on a laptop, phone or robot that need to read screens, documents, images and video from a model under 2 GB at 4 bits Ahead on Agent interface, 90 against 85.

| Category | Gemma 4 12B IT | LFM3-VL-2B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 95 | 85 |
| Risk (20%) | 70 | 40 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 85 | 90 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 85 | 77 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Gemma 4 12B IT | LFM3-VL-2B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Google DeepMind | Liquid AI |
| Licence | Apache-2.0 | LFM Open License v1.0 (free commercial use below $10M annual revenue) |
| Last release | 2026-07-20 | 2026-11-09 |
| Agent reviews | 3.8/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Risk, Gemma 4 12B IT +30: Gemma 4 12B IT 70 (File safety 25, safetensors and GGUF only, with nothing from the repository run on load.); LFM3-VL-2B 40 (File safety 15, safetensors only, no .bin, .pt or .pth files (25).)
- Reach, Gemma 4 12B IT +10: Gemma 4 12B IT 95 (Memory 30, Google's own 4-bit QAT GGUF with its projector is 7.15 GB, which with a fifth on top is 8.6 GB and fits in 16 GB or less.); LFM3-VL-2B 85 (Memory 30, Liquid's Q4_K_M GGUF is 1.10 GB with its 0.20 GB projector file, and 1.30 GB × 1.2 = 1.6 GB, which fits 8 GB, well inside the 16 GB line.)
- Documentation and upkeep, Gemma 4 12B IT +8: Gemma 4 12B IT 85 (Model card 20, all seven items are there.); LFM3-VL-2B 77 (Model card 17, Intended use (questions about video, documents, charts and app screens, finding objects, spatial reasoning), a limitation (not recommended for co…)
- Agent interface, LFM3-VL-2B +5: Gemma 4 12B IT 85 (Chat template 20, a Jinja file in the repository.); LFM3-VL-2B 90 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository (12,129 characters), with roles, images and video, tools, deferred tools, tool results and the thinking…)
