Qwen 2.5 72B vs Llama 3.1 405B
Pricing, context window, and benchmark comparison · Last updated April 2026
Qwen 2.5 72B is cheaper than Llama 3.1 405B at $0.35/1M/1M vs $2.70/1M/1M input tokens — a 7.7x cost difference. Qwen 2.5 72B scores higher on quality benchmarks (ELO 1280). Choose Qwen 2.5 72B for cost-sensitive workloads; both are strong choices depending on your budget.
Which is cheaper: Qwen 2.5 72B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Qwen 2.5 72B is the cheaper option at $0.35/1M per 1M input tokens, compared to $2.70/1M for Llama 3.1 405B. That is a 7.7x cost difference on input tokens. Output pricing follows a similar pattern: Qwen 2.5 72B charges $0.40/1M/1M vs $2.70/1M/1M for Llama 3.1 405B.
Which has better quality: Qwen 2.5 72B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Based on LMSYS Chatbot Arena rankings, Qwen 2.5 72B achieves a higher ELO score (1280 vs 1267), suggesting stronger performance on open-ended tasks. Qwen 2.5 72B excels at best-in-class for chinese/japanese/korean languages. Llama 3.1 405B is known for open source — can be self-hosted for data privacy.
Which should you choose: Qwen 2.5 72B or Llama 3.1 405B?
- → Best-in-class for Chinese/Japanese/Korean languages
- → Open source weights available
- → Strong coding performance for cost
- → 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: Qwen 2.5 72B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Qwen 2.5 72B is cheaper at $0.35/1M per 1M input tokens, making it 7.7x more affordable.
Which has better quality: Qwen 2.5 72B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Qwen 2.5 72B scores higher on the LMSYS Chatbot Arena with an ELO of 1280, suggesting better overall quality for most tasks.
Which has a larger context window: Qwen 2.5 72B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Both Qwen 2.5 72B and Llama 3.1 405B have the same context window.
Should I choose Qwen 2.5 72B or Llama 3.1 405B?
Choose Qwen 2.5 72B if cost is the priority. Choose Qwen 2.5 72B if benchmark quality is most important. Consider your specific use case: Qwen 2.5 72B is best for translation and coding, while Llama 3.1 405B excels at coding and research.
Is Qwen 2.5 72B or Llama 3.1 405B open source?
Qwen 2.5 72B is open source. Llama 3.1 405B is open source.