Gemma 2 9B vs GPT-4.1
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
Gemma 2 9B specs · GPT-4.1 specs- PriceGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 publishes pricing ($8.00 / 1M output tokens) while Gemma 2 9B does not.
- Context windowGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 8.2K, 122.1× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on MMLU (broad academic knowledge), where it scores 86.2 vs 71.3.
- ModalitiesGPT-4.1
GPT-4.1 supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Gemma 2 9B.
- OpennessGemma 2 9B
Gemma 2 9B ships open weights (Gemma License); GPT-4.1 is API-only.
On balance GPT-4.1 edges ahead, winning 4 of 5 categories against Gemma 2 9B's 1. GPT-4.1 publishes pricing ($8.00 / 1M output tokens) while Gemma 2 9B does not. GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 8.2K, 122.1× the room for long documents and codebases.
GPT-4.1 leads in 1 of 1 shared benchmarks; the biggest gap is on MMLU (broad academic knowledge), where it scores 86.2 vs 71.3. They differ in modality coverage, Gemma 2 9B handles text while GPT-4.1 handles text, vision, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Gemma 2 9B ships open weights (Gemma License); GPT-4.1 is API-only.
GPT-4.1 is the newer of the two, released 10 months after Gemma 2 9B, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Gemma 2 9B is usually picked for on device and edge deployment workloads, while GPT-4.1 sees more deployments in long context and rag. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Gemma 2 9B | GPT-4.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | |
| Released | Jun 2024 | Apr 2025 |
| Modalities | text | text, vision |
| Context window | 8.2K tokens | 1M tokens |
| Max output | , | 32.8K tokens |
| Input · 1M | Pricing not published | $2.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | Pricing not published | $8.00 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | , | 2024-06 |
| Open weights | Yes (Gemma License) | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
Pricing at scale
What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day, vs $18.00
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day, vs $180
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day, vs $348
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Gemma 2 9BPricing unavailable
- GPT-4.1$0.600
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
- MMLU71.386.2
- HumanEval,90.6
Gemma 2 9B fits when…
- Strong 9B-class quality
- Wide tooling
- Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Gemma License).
GPT-4.1 fits when…
- 1M-token context window, strong for long-doc workloads
- Mature SDK and tooling integrations
- Reliable JSON-mode and function-calling
- Long-context tasks, handles 1M tokens vs 8.2K for Gemma 2 9B.
- Multimodal needs covering vision.
Consider Gemini 3 Pro
Google's late-2025 flagship, set new benchmarks on long-context, vision, and reasoning at competitive pricing.
Frequently asked
Is Gemma 2 9B or GPT-4.1 cheaper?
Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.Which has the larger context window?
GPT-4.1 accepts 1M tokens vs 8.2K for Gemma 2 9B.Is Gemma 2 9B or GPT-4.1 better for coding?
Both Gemma 2 9B and GPT-4.1 are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.Are either of these models open source?
Gemma 2 9B ships open weights (Gemma License). GPT-4.1 is API-only.When were Gemma 2 9B and GPT-4.1 released?
Gemma 2 9B was released by Google on 2024-06-27. GPT-4.1 was released by OpenAI on 2025-04-14.
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