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Text model · Gemma

Gemma 3 27B: RAM and VRAM requirements

Gemma 3 27B needs about 18.6 GB to run at Q4_K_M (the Q4_K_M GGUF file is ~16.55 GB to download; KV cache and overhead add the rest), or about 30.7 GB at Q8_0. The lightest hardware that runs it is Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 (24GB).

Gemma family · 27B params · released Mar 2025 · 32.8M Ollama pulls · LMArena Elo 1366.

Shopping for hardware? See what runs Gemma 3 27B →

License Gemma · Conditional ↓ 847.1K/mo ♥ 2K on HuggingFace
Q4_K_M GGUF
16.55 GB
Q8_0 GGUF
28.71 GB
Memory @ Q4 (4k)
~18.6 GB
Context
128 k

Q4_K_M and Q8_0 are GGUF download (file) sizes. Memory @ Q4 includes the KV cache and overhead, so it runs larger than the file on disk.

Will it run on your device?

Gemma 3 27B runs on 13 of 40 tracked devices at Q4_K_M.

13 run well 0 tight fit 27 too small
Fit check Q4_K_M
No, not enough memory
needs 18.6 GB usable 10.5 GB
See the full breakdown

Memory breakdown

Weights (Q4_K_M)16.55 GB
+
KV cache (4k)1.2 GB
+
Overhead0.8 GB
=
Total18.6 GB

How context length changes it

4k context ~18.6 GB 32k context ~27.4 GB 128k context ~57.3 GB

Longer context grows the KV cache quickly: Gemma 3 27B needs ~18.6 GB at 4k but ~57.3 GB at 128k, which can push it past a device that fits it at a short context.

Speed drops too: every token re-reads the KV cache, so at 128k context Gemma 3 27B generates at roughly ~29% of its short-context speed. How this is estimated.

Benchmark scores

Aider polyglot · coding

#10 of 10 ranked · Percent of 225 Exercism exercises solved across six languages.

4.9%

BFCL · tool use

#9 of 19 ranked · Overall Acc on the Berkeley Function-Calling Leaderboard.

29.5%

LMArena · chat (elo)

#2 of 16 ranked · Human-preference Elo from LMArena's blind head-to-head votes.

1366

Sourced third-party benchmarks for the full-precision Gemma 3 27B, not a specific quant. See the full leaderboard.

Quantization sizes

GGUF quantson disk
Quantization Size on disk
Q2_K 11.3 GB est
Q3_K_M 13.2 GB est
Q4_K_M (default) 16.55 GB
Q5_K_M 19.2 GB est
Q6_K 22.1 GB est
Q8_0 28.71 GB
FP16 54 GB est

Lower quant = smaller and faster, slightly lower quality. Q4_K_M is the common default.

Run it

Ollama
$ ollama run gemma3:27b
llama.cpp
$ llama-cli -hf bartowski/google_gemma-3-27b-it-GGUF:Q4_K_M
LM Studio
$ lms get bartowski/google_gemma-3-27b-it-GGUF

Which devices can run Gemma 3 27B?

Apple Silicon Macs

RAM-only laptops

iPhone & iPad

Android

NVIDIA GPUs

AMD GPUs

Same job, different size

Pick by what fits your memory: step down to free up VRAM, or step up if you have headroom.

Next size down Gemma 4 26B-A4B 26.5B Next size up Qwen3.6 27B 27.8B

Similar models

Head-to-head

FAQ

How much VRAM or RAM does Gemma 3 27B need?

At Q4_K_M, Gemma 3 27B needs about 18.6 GB (weights ~16.55 GB + KV cache + overhead) at a 4k context. At Q8_0 budget ~30.7 GB.

What is the Q4_K_M GGUF file size of Gemma 3 27B?

The Q4_K_M GGUF file is about 16.55 GB to download, and the Q8_0 GGUF is about 28.71 GB. That is the weights file on disk; to run it you also need room for the KV cache and overhead, so budget ~18.6 GB of memory at Q4_K_M.

Can Gemma 3 27B run on a laptop?

Gemma 3 27B is large; you need a 24 GB+ GPU or a 32-48 GB Mac at Q4_K_M.

Can I use Gemma 3 27B commercially?

Conditionally. Gemma Terms of Use apply to commercial use.

Understand the numbers

Short guides to the ideas behind Gemma 3 27B's memory and quant figures.

Released March 12, 2025. Multimodal (text + image), 140+ languages. Ollama shows 17GB default; bartowski HF (google_gemma-3-27b-it-GGUF) gives precise 16.55GB Q4_K_M and 28.71GB Q8_0.

Sources

Last validated 2026-08-03. Memory figures are estimates. See methodology.