Llama 3.1 8B vs Llama 3.1 405B
Pricing, context window, and benchmark comparison · Last updated April 2026
Llama 3.1 8B is cheaper than Llama 3.1 405B at $0.06/1M/1M vs $2.70/1M/1M input tokens — a 49.1x cost difference. Llama 3.1 405B scores higher on quality benchmarks (ELO 1267). Choose Llama 3.1 8B for cost-sensitive workloads; choose Llama 3.1 405B for maximum quality.
Which is cheaper: Llama 3.1 8B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Llama 3.1 8B is the cheaper option at $0.06/1M per 1M input tokens, compared to $2.70/1M for Llama 3.1 405B. That is a 49.1x cost difference on input tokens. Output pricing follows a similar pattern: Llama 3.1 8B charges $0.06/1M/1M vs $2.70/1M/1M for Llama 3.1 405B.
Which has better quality: Llama 3.1 8B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Based on LMSYS Chatbot Arena rankings, Llama 3.1 405B achieves a higher ELO score (1267 vs 1176), suggesting stronger performance on open-ended tasks. Llama 3.1 8B excels at essentially free to run via groq or local deployment. Llama 3.1 405B is known for open source — can be self-hosted for data privacy.
Which should you choose: Llama 3.1 8B or Llama 3.1 405B?
- → Essentially free to run via Groq or local deployment
- → Open source — full data privacy
- → Fast inference on commodity hardware
- → Open source — can be self-hosted for data privacy
- → Competitive with GPT-4o on many benchmarks
- → Strong multilingual capabilities
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper: Llama 3.1 8B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Llama 3.1 8B is cheaper at $0.06/1M per 1M input tokens, making it 49.1x more affordable.
Which has better quality: Llama 3.1 8B or Llama 3.1 405B?
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 8B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Both Llama 3.1 8B and Llama 3.1 405B have the same context window.
Should I choose Llama 3.1 8B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Choose Llama 3.1 8B if cost is the priority. Choose Llama 3.1 405B if benchmark quality is most important. Consider your specific use case: Llama 3.1 8B is best for fast-response and low-cost, while Llama 3.1 405B excels at coding and research.
Is Llama 3.1 8B or Llama 3.1 405B open source?
Llama 3.1 8B is open source. Llama 3.1 405B is open source.