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Gemini 1.5 ProvsGemma 2 27B

Google DeepMind vs Google DeepMind — Side-by-side model comparison

Gemini 1.5 Pro leads 4/5 categories

Head-to-Head Comparison

MetricGemini 1.5 ProGemma 2 27B
Provider
Google DeepMind
Google DeepMind
Arena Rank
#4
#18
Context Window
1M
8K
Input Pricing
$3.50/1M tokens
Free (open)/1M tokens
Output Pricing
$10.50/1M tokens
Free (open)/1M tokens
Parameters
Undisclosed
27B
Open Source
No
Yes
Best For
Long documents, multimodal analysis, coding
Research, fine-tuning, on-premise deployment
Release Date
May 14, 2024
Jun 27, 2024

Gemini 1.5 Pro

Gemini 1.5 Pro, developed by Google DeepMind, is a high-capability multimodal model with a 1 million token context window that can process entire books, codebases, or hours of video in a single request. The model uses a Mixture-of-Experts architecture to deliver strong performance on complex reasoning, coding, mathematical analysis, and multimodal understanding tasks. Its massive context window makes it uniquely suited for tasks involving large-scale document analysis, repository-wide code review, and comprehensive media processing. Priced at $3.50 per million input tokens and $10.50 per million output tokens, it offers substantial context capacity at competitive pricing. Gemini 1.5 Pro ranks #4 on the Chatbot Arena leaderboard, reflecting its position as one of the most capable models available for tasks requiring deep, contextual understanding.

Gemma 2 27B

Gemma 2 27B, developed by Google DeepMind, is the largest model in the Gemma 2 open-source family with 27 billion parameters and an 8K token context window. The model delivers performance competitive with much larger open-source alternatives while requiring less compute for inference. Its architecture incorporates knowledge distillation techniques from larger Gemini models, achieving strong results on reasoning, coding, and multilingual benchmarks. Gemma 2 27B supports fine-tuning and can run on a single high-end consumer GPU, making it practical for on-premise enterprise deployments with data privacy requirements. As a fully open-source model with permissive licensing, it enables commercial deployment without API costs. Gemma 2 27B ranks #18 on the Chatbot Arena leaderboard, placing it among the strongest open-weight models in its parameter class.

Key Differences: Gemini 1.5 Pro vs Gemma 2 27B

1

Gemini 1.5 Pro ranks higher in arena benchmarks (#4) indicating stronger overall performance.

2

Gemini 1.5 Pro supports a larger context window (1M), allowing it to process longer documents in a single request.

3

Gemma 2 27B is open-source (free to self-host and fine-tune) while Gemini 1.5 Pro is proprietary (API-only access).

G

When to use Gemini 1.5 Pro

  • +You need the highest quality output based on arena rankings
  • +You need to process long documents (1M context)
  • +You prefer a managed API without infrastructure overhead
  • +Your use case involves long documents, multimodal analysis, coding
View full Gemini 1.5 Pro specs →
G

When to use Gemma 2 27B

  • +You need to self-host or fine-tune the model
  • +Your use case involves research, fine-tuning, on-premise deployment
View full Gemma 2 27B specs →

The Verdict

Gemini 1.5 Pro wins our head-to-head comparison with 4 out of 5 category wins. It's the stronger choice for long documents, multimodal analysis, coding, though Gemma 2 27B holds an edge in research, fine-tuning, on-premise deployment.

Last compared: April 2026 · Data sourced from public benchmarks and official pricing pages

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Gemini 1.5 Pro or Gemma 2 27B?
In our head-to-head comparison, Gemini 1.5 Pro leads in 4 out of 5 categories (arena rank, context window, input pricing, output pricing, and parameters). Gemini 1.5 Pro excels at long documents, multimodal analysis, coding, while Gemma 2 27B is better suited for research, fine-tuning, on-premise deployment. The best choice depends on your specific requirements, budget, and use case.
How does Gemini 1.5 Pro pricing compare to Gemma 2 27B?
Gemini 1.5 Pro charges $3.50 per 1M input tokens and $10.50 per 1M output tokens. Gemma 2 27B charges Free (open) per 1M input tokens and Free (open) per 1M output tokens. For high-volume production workloads, the pricing difference can significantly impact total cost of ownership.
What is the context window difference between Gemini 1.5 Pro and Gemma 2 27B?
Gemini 1.5 Pro supports a 1M token context window, while Gemma 2 27B supports 8K tokens. Gemini 1.5 Pro can process longer documents, codebases, and conversations in a single request. Context window size matters most for tasks involving long documents, large codebases, or extended conversations.
Can I use Gemini 1.5 Pro or Gemma 2 27B for free?
Gemini 1.5 Pro is a paid API model starting at $3.50 per 1M input tokens. Gemma 2 27B is a paid API model starting at Free (open) per 1M input tokens. Open-source models can be self-hosted for free but require your own GPU infrastructure.
Which model has better benchmarks, Gemini 1.5 Pro or Gemma 2 27B?
Gemini 1.5 Pro holds arena rank #4, while Gemma 2 27B holds rank #18. Gemini 1.5 Pro performs better in overall arena benchmarks, which aggregate human preference ratings across coding, reasoning, and general tasks. Note that benchmarks don't capture every use case — we recommend testing both models on your specific tasks.
Is Gemini 1.5 Pro or Gemma 2 27B better for coding?
Gemini 1.5 Pro is specifically optimized for coding tasks. Gemma 2 27B's primary strength is research, fine-tuning, on-premise deployment. For coding specifically, arena rank and code-specific benchmarks are the best indicators of performance.