google · text

gemma-3-270m-it

google/gemma-3-270m-it

gemma-3-270m-it at Q4_K_M is exactly 253,115,168 bytes (0.24 GiB / 0.25 GB) — an effective 7.553 bits per weight, not the nominal 4. Its KV cache at 32K is 0.11 GiB, not the 0.56 GiB a flat formula predicts.

From the file· summed from 1 file(s)From the file· KV from mirror (mirror:unsloth/gemma-3-270m-it)
Parameters
268M
Architecture
gemma3
18 layers
Context
32,768
native (config.json)
License
gemma

Shipped quantizations

exact bytes, summed from published files
QuantSizeExact bytesEffective bpwTensorsPublisher
UD-IQ2_XXS0.17 GiB180,104,2245.374unsloth
UD-IQ2_M0.17 GiB182,787,1045.454unsloth
UD-IQ3_XXS0.17 GiB184,517,6645.506unsloth
IQ3_XXS0.22 GiB235,973,4087.041bartowski
Q3_K_S0.22 GiB236,710,6887.063bartowski
Q3_K_S0.22 GiB236,710,9447.063unsloth
IQ3_XS0.22 GiB237,079,3287.074bartowski
Q2_K0.22 GiB237,079,5847.074unsloth
Q2_K_L0.22 GiB237,079,5847.074unsloth
IQ3_M0.22 GiB238,994,2087.131bartowski
IQ4_XS0.22 GiB240,857,8887.187236bartowski
IQ4_XS0.22 GiB240,858,1447.187236unsloth
Q4_00.22 GiB241,574,6887.208236bartowski
Q4_00.22 GiB241,574,9447.209236unsloth
Q3_K_M0.23 GiB241,963,8087.220236bartowski
IQ4_NL0.23 GiB241,963,8087.220bartowski
Q3_K_M0.23 GiB241,964,0647.220236unsloth
IQ4_NL0.23 GiB241,964,0647.220unsloth
Q3_K_L0.23 GiB246,387,4887.352bartowski
Q4_10.23 GiB247,677,7287.391bartowski
Q4_10.23 GiB247,677,9847.391unsloth
Q4_K_S0.23 GiB249,889,5687.457bartowski
Q4_K_S0.23 GiB249,889,8247.457unsloth
Q4_K_M0.24 GiB253,115,1687.553236bartowski
Q4_K_L0.24 GiB253,115,1687.553bartowski
Q4_K_M0.24 GiB253,115,4247.553unsloth
Q5_K_S0.24 GiB257,999,6487.699bartowski
Q5_K_S0.24 GiB257,999,9047.699unsloth
Q5_K_M0.24 GiB260,027,1687.759236bartowski
Q5_K_L0.24 GiB260,027,1687.759bartowski
Q5_K_M0.24 GiB260,027,4247.759236unsloth
Q6_K0.26 GiB282,975,0088.444236bartowski
Q6_K_L0.26 GiB282,975,0088.444bartowski
Q6_K0.26 GiB282,975,2648.444236unsloth
Q8_00.27 GiB291,545,6008.700ggml-org
Q8_00.27 GiB291,545,8888.700236bartowski
Q8_00.27 GiB291,546,1448.700236unsloth
BF160.51 GiB542,835,20016.198bartowski
F160.51 GiB542,835,48816.198236unsloth

KV cache by context

computed per layer — this model uses sliding-window attention
ContextKV cache (f16)Flat formulaOverstated byFull / windowed / recurrent
4,0960.03 GiB0.07 GiB2.67×3 / 15 / 0
8,1920.04 GiB0.14 GiB3.69×3 / 15 / 0
16,3840.06 GiB0.28 GiB4.57×3 / 15 / 0
32,7680.11 GiB0.56 GiB5.19×3 / 15 / 0
65,5360.20 GiB1.13 GiB5.57×3 / 15 / 0
131,0720.39 GiB2.25 GiB5.77×3 / 15 / 0

15 of 18 layers cache only a 512-token window rather than the full context, on a period of 6. Figures assume the default configuration; --swa-full disables the saving entirely.

Compare with

same modality, comparable size

Will it run on your card?

full quant x context sweep

Why other calculators give a different number

A parameters × bits ÷ 8 estimate puts Q4_K_M at roughly 0.14 GiB. The real file is 0.24 GiB, because a quantization is a mixture and some tensors are always kept at higher precision. The larger discrepancy is the cache: a flat formula gives 0.56 GiB at 32K context where the real figure is 0.11 GiB, because most of this model's layers cache a fixed window rather than the whole context.

Architecture

from mirror:unsloth/gemma-3-270m-it
Layers
18
Attention heads
4
KV heads
1
Head dim
256
Hidden size
640
Vocab
262,144
Sliding window
512
SWA period
6
MLA
no
Experts
Experts per token
use_sliding_window

Questions people ask

How much VRAM does gemma-3-270m-it need?
Q4_K_M is exactly 253,115,168 bytes (0.24 GiB) in weights. Add the KV cache, which depends on your context length, plus roughly half a gigabyte of runtime overhead.
How large is gemma-3-270m-it's KV cache?
0.11 GiB at 32K context with an f16 cache, computed per layer. Quantizing the cache to q8_0 roughly halves it, which is often the difference between a context length fitting and not.
Which quantization of gemma-3-270m-it should I use?
Q4_K_M is the usual default. Pick the largest quantization that fits your card at the context you actually need — the table above gives exact sizes for every one published.