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Llama 3.1 405B vs Gemini 1.5 Pro

Pricing, context window, and benchmark comparison · Last updated April 2026

Quick Verdict

Gemini 1.5 Pro is cheaper than Llama 3.1 405B at $1.25/1M/1M vs $2.70/1M/1M input tokens — a 2.2x cost difference. Llama 3.1 405B scores higher on quality benchmarks (ELO 1267). Choose Gemini 1.5 Pro for cost-sensitive workloads; choose Llama 3.1 405B for maximum quality.

Detailed Comparison

MetricLlama 3.1 405BGemini 1.5 Pro
Input Price / 1M tokens$2.70/1M$1.25/1MCheaper
Output Price / 1M tokens$2.70/1MCheaper$5.00/1M
Context Window131K2MLarger
ELO Score (LMSYS)1267Smarter1266
Open SourceYes
Free Tier
Release Date2024-072024-02

Which is cheaper: Llama 3.1 405B or Gemini 1.5 Pro?

Gemini 1.5 Pro is the cheaper option at $1.25/1M per 1M input tokens, compared to $2.70/1M for Llama 3.1 405B. That is a 2.2x cost difference on input tokens. Output pricing follows a similar pattern: Llama 3.1 405B charges $2.70/1M/1M vs $5.00/1M/1M for Gemini 1.5 Pro.

Which has better quality: Llama 3.1 405B or Gemini 1.5 Pro?

Based on LMSYS Chatbot Arena rankings, Llama 3.1 405B achieves a higher ELO score (1267 vs 1266), suggesting stronger performance on open-ended tasks. Llama 3.1 405B excels at open source — can be self-hosted for data privacy. Gemini 1.5 Pro is known for 2m token context window — largest available commercially.

Which should you choose: Llama 3.1 405B or Gemini 1.5 Pro?

Choose Llama 3.1 405B if:
  • Open source — can be self-hosted for data privacy
  • Competitive with GPT-4o on many benchmarks
  • Strong multilingual capabilities
Choose Gemini 1.5 Pro if:
  • 2M token context window — largest available commercially
  • Strong multimodal capabilities (text, images, video, audio)
  • Excellent price-to-quality ratio

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper: Llama 3.1 405B or Gemini 1.5 Pro?

Gemini 1.5 Pro is cheaper at $1.25/1M per 1M input tokens, making it 2.2x more affordable.

Which has better quality: Llama 3.1 405B or Gemini 1.5 Pro?

Llama 3.1 405B scores higher on the LMSYS Chatbot Arena with an ELO of 1267, suggesting better overall quality for most tasks.

Which has a larger context window: Llama 3.1 405B or Gemini 1.5 Pro?

Gemini 1.5 Pro has a larger context window at 2000K tokens.

Should I choose Llama 3.1 405B or Gemini 1.5 Pro?

Choose Gemini 1.5 Pro if cost is the priority. Choose Llama 3.1 405B if benchmark quality is most important. Consider your specific use case: Llama 3.1 405B is best for coding and research, while Gemini 1.5 Pro excels at long-context and document-analysis.

Is Llama 3.1 405B or Gemini 1.5 Pro open source?

Llama 3.1 405B is open source. Gemini 1.5 Pro is proprietary.

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