DeepSeek V3.1 vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
DeepSeek V3.1 (2025) and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct (2024) are compact production models from DeepSeek and AI at Meta. DeepSeek V3.1 ships a 64k-token context window, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ships a 128k-token context window. On pricing, DeepSeek V3.1 costs $0.27/1M input tokens versus $2.40/1M 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.
DeepSeek V3.1 is ~789% cheaper at $0.27/1M; pay for Llama 3.1 405B Instruct only for long-context analysis.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | DeepSeek V3.1 | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps and provider-routed production | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, Agents, and Vision | RAG, Long context, and Classification |
| Context window | 64k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $1/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 8 tracked | 11 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- DeepSeek V3.1 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $1/1M tokens.
- DeepSeek V3.1 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Code execution in local model data.
- Local decision data tags DeepSeek V3.1 for Coding, Agents, and Vision.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 405B Instruct for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
DeepSeek V3.1
$466
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Novita AI
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
$2,520
Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock
Estimated monthly gap: $2,054. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on Together AI, Fireworks AI, and NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is $1.40/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Code execution before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on Microsoft Foundry, Fireworks AI, and NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- DeepSeek V3.1 is $1.40/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- DeepSeek V3.1 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Code execution in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-08-21 | 2024-07-23 |
| Context window | 64k | 128k |
| Parameters | 671B total, 37B active (MoE) | 405B |
| Architecture | Mixture of Experts | Decoder Only |
| License | MITOSI-approved | Llama 3 Community |
| Openness | Open source | Open weights |
| Weights | Unknown | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2023-12 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | DeepSeek V3.1 | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.27/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Output price | $1/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | DeepSeek V3.1 | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.