Gemini 3 Pro vs Llama 3.1 405B
Gemini 3 Pro (2025) and Llama 3.1 405B (2024) are compact production models from Google DeepMind and AI at Meta. Gemini 3 Pro ships a 1M-token context window, while Llama 3.1 405B ships a 128K-token context window. On Chatbot Arena, Gemini 3 Pro leads by 258 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
Gemini 3 Pro fits 8x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Llama 3.1 405B for tighter calls.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-12-11 | 2024-07-23 |
| Context window | 1M | 128K |
| Parameters | — | 405B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Proprietary | Open Source |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-01 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Gemini 3 Pro | Llama 3.1 405B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.25/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $5/1M tokens | - |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Capability | Gemini 3 Pro | Llama 3.1 405B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | Yes | No |
| Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | No | No |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Pro | Llama 3.1 405B |
|---|---|---|
| Chatbot Arena | 1486.0 | 1228.0 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Chatbot Arena has Gemini 3 Pro at 1486 and Llama 3.1 405B at 1228, with Gemini 3 Pro ahead by 258 points. The largest visible gap is 258 points on Chatbot Arena, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Gemini 3 Pro, multimodal input: Gemini 3 Pro, function calling: Gemini 3 Pro, tool use: Gemini 3 Pro, and code execution: Gemini 3 Pro. 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.
Pricing coverage is uneven: Gemini 3 Pro has $1.25/1M input tokens and Llama 3.1 405B has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 2 tracked routes versus 0. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Gemini 3 Pro when coding workflow support, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Llama 3.1 405B when provider fit 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 3 Pro or Llama 3.1 405B?
Gemini 3 Pro supports 1M tokens, while Llama 3.1 405B supports 128K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Is Gemini 3 Pro or Llama 3.1 405B open source?
Gemini 3 Pro is listed under Proprietary. Llama 3.1 405B is listed under Open Source. 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 3 Pro or Llama 3.1 405B?
Gemini 3 Pro 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 3 Pro or Llama 3.1 405B?
Gemini 3 Pro 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.
Which is better for function calling, Gemini 3 Pro or Llama 3.1 405B?
Gemini 3 Pro has the clearer documented function calling signal in this comparison. If function calling is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Gemini 3 Pro and Llama 3.1 405B?
Gemini 3 Pro is available on Replicate API and GCP Vertex AI. Llama 3.1 405B is available on the tracked providers still being sourced. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.