Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B vs Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B (2024) and Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 (2025) are general-purpose language models from Google DeepMind and AI at Meta. Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B ships a 1m-token context window, while Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 ships a 1m-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is ~300% cheaper at $0.04/1M; pay for Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 only for vision-heavy evaluation.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | long-context analysis | multimodal apps, long-context analysis, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Long context | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 1m | 1m |
| Cheapest output | $0.15/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 10 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.15/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B for Long context.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 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.
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
$67.50
Cheapest tracked route/tier: GCP Vertex AI
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8
$270
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $203. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is $0.45/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is $0.45/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-10-03 | 2025-04-05 |
| Context window | 1m | 1m |
| Parameters | 8B | 400B (17B active) |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Mixture of Experts |
| License | Proprietary | Llama 4 Community |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open weights |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-08 | 2024-08 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.04/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.15/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8, multimodal input: Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8, and structured outputs: Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8. Both models share the core language-model surface, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
For cost, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B lists $0.04/1M input and $0.15/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 lists $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B lower by about $0.21 per million blended tokens. Availability is 1 providers versus 10, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B when provider fit and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 when vision-heavy evaluation and broader provider choice are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B or Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8?
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B supports 1m tokens, while Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 supports 1m tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B or Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8?
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B costs $0.04/1M input and $0.15/1M output tokens. Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 costs $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B or Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 open source?
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is listed under Proprietary. Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 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, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B or Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for multimodal input, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B or Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8?
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is available on GCP Vertex AI. Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is available on Microsoft Foundry, Together AI, OpenRouter, Fireworks AI, and DeepInfra. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.