Gemma 4 vs Qwen3.5
Gemma 4 and Qwen3.5 side by side: model sizes, the VRAM you need, context window, abilities, licence and which one to pick.
Side by side
| Gemma 4 | Qwen3.5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Model in the Gemma family | Model in the Qwen family |
| Developer | Google DeepMind | Alibaba Cloud (Qwen team) |
| Released | Mar 2026 | Feb 2026 |
| Parameters | E2B–31B (26B MoE, 4B active) | 0.8B–122B |
| Sizes | E2B · E4B · 12B · 26B · 31B | 0.8B · 2B · 4B · 9B · 27B · 35B · 122B |
| Smallest VRAM (4-bit) | ~6 GB | ~2 GB |
| Context window | 256K tokens | 256K tokens |
| Abilities | Tool callingReasoning modeImage inputAudio input | Tool callingReasoning modeImage input |
| Licence | Apache 2.0 | Apache 2.0 |
| Run it | ollama run gemma4:e2b | ollama run qwen3.5:0.8b |
Which one should you pick?
- Qwen3.5 runs on smaller hardware: from ~2 GB of GPU memory, against ~6 GB.
- Only Gemma 4 has audio input.
Pick Gemma 4 if…
- you need audio input
- you want the newer model (Mar 2026)
Best for: Multimodal (image + audio), reasoning, 256K context
Pick Qwen3.5 if…
- you have less GPU memory (it starts at 2 GB)
- your tools or fine-tunes already target it (released Feb 2026, so support is mature)
Best for: Multimodal family from 0.8B to 122B, best for small GPUs
VRAM and download size
Ollama's default 4-bit builds with an 8K context. Read GB as system RAM on a CPU-only machine or a Mac.
Gemma 4
| Model | Download | VRAM |
|---|---|---|
| E2B | 4.6 GB | ~6 GB |
| E4B | 6.6 GB | ~8 GB |
| 12B | 8 GB | ~9.5 GB |
| 26B | 19 GB | ~21.5 GB |
| 31B | 20 GB | ~22.5 GB |
Qwen3.5
| Model | Download | VRAM |
|---|---|---|
| 0.8B | 1.3 GB | ~2 GB |
| 2B | 2.6 GB | ~3.5 GB |
| 4B | 4.1 GB | ~5.5 GB |
| 9B | 9 GB | ~10.5 GB |
| 27B | 21 GB | ~24 GB |
| 35B | 24 GB | ~27 GB |
| 122B | 81 GB | ~90 GB |
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemma 4 better than Qwen3.5?
It depends on the job and your hardware. Qwen3.5 runs on smaller hardware: from ~2 GB of GPU memory, against ~6 GB. Only Gemma 4 has audio input. For quality, test both on your own prompts: benchmark rankings change with every release.
Which needs less VRAM, Gemma 4 or Qwen3.5?
Gemma 4 starts at ~6 GB (4.6 GB download). Qwen3.5 starts at ~2 GB (1.3 GB download).
Can I use Gemma 4 and Qwen3.5 commercially?
Gemma 4: Apache 2.0. Qwen3.5: Apache 2.0. Check the exact licence of the model you deploy; custom licences can limit very large companies or certain uses.
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