Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 vs Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct
Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 (2025) and Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct (2025) are general-purpose language models from Anthropic and AI at Meta. Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 ships a 200k-token context window, while Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct ships a 10m-token context window. On pricing, Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct costs $0.08/1M input tokens versus $6/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is ~7400% cheaper at $0.08/1M; pay for Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 only for vision-heavy evaluation.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 | Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps and provider-routed production | multimodal apps, long-context analysis, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | RAG, Long context, and Vision | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 200k | 10m |
| Cheapest output | $30/1M tokens | $0.30/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 12 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Local decision data tags Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 for RAG, Long context, and Vision.
- Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.30/1M tokens.
- Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2
$12,300
Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct
$139
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $12,161. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on AWS Bedrock; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is $29.70/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Provider overlap exists on AWS Bedrock; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 is $29.70/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-12-01 | 2025-04-05 |
| Context window | 200k | 10m |
| Parameters | — | 109B (17B active) |
| Architecture | - | mixture of experts |
| License | Proprietary | Llama 4 Community |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open weights |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use with conditions |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-04 | 2024-08 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 | Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $6/1M tokens | $0.08/1M tokens |
| Output price | $30/1M tokens | $0.30/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 | Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint is close: both models cover vision, multimodal input, and structured outputs. That makes context budget, benchmark fit, and provider maturity more important than a simple checklist. If your application depends on one integration detail, verify it against the provider route you plan to use, not just the base model listing.
For cost, Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 lists $6/1M input and $30/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct lists $0.08/1M input and $0.30/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct lower by about $13.05 per million blended tokens. Availability is 2 providers versus 12, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 when vision-heavy evaluation are central to the workload. Choose Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and lower input-token cost are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 or Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct?
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct supports 10m tokens, while Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 supports 200k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 or Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct?
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 costs $6/1M input and $30/1M output tokens. Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct costs $0.08/1M input and $0.30/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 or Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct open source?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 is listed under Proprietary. Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is listed under Llama 4 Community. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 or Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct?
Both Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 and Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct expose vision. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Which is better for multimodal input, Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 or Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct?
Both Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 and Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 and Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct?
Claude 3.5 Sonnet v2 is available on AWS Bedrock and Anthropic. Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is available on Cloudflare Workers AI, OpenRouter, Together AI, Fireworks AI, and DeepInfra. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-07. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.