Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (2025) and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (2024) are compact production models from IBM Research and AI at Meta. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ships a 128K-token context window, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ships a 128K-token context window. On pricing, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs $0.02/1M input tokens versus $0.03/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is ~50% cheaper at $0.02/1M; pay for Granite 3.3 8B Instruct only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Granite 3.3 8B Instruct | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Decision fit | RAG, Agents, and Long context | RAG, Long context, and Classification |
| Context window | 128K | 128K |
| Cheapest output | $0.25/1M tokens | $0.05/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 12 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Granite 3.3 8B Instruct uniquely exposes Function calling and Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Granite 3.3 8B Instruct for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.05/1M tokens.
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 8B Instruct for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
$86.50
Cheapest tracked route: Replicate API
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
$28.50
Cheapest tracked route: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $58.00. Batch, cache, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on NVIDIA NIM and Replicate API; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is $0.2/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Function calling and Tool use before moving production traffic.
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on NVIDIA NIM and Replicate API; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is $0.2/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Granite 3.3 8B Instruct adds Function calling and Tool use in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-03-01 | 2024-07-23 |
| Context window | 128K | 128K |
| Parameters | 8B | 8B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Apache 2.0 | Open Source |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Granite 3.3 8B Instruct | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.03/1M tokens | $0.02/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.25/1M tokens | $0.05/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Granite 3.3 8B Instruct | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | Yes | No |
| Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on function calling: Granite 3.3 8B Instruct, tool use: Granite 3.3 8B Instruct, and structured outputs: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct. 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, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct lists $0.03/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct lists $0.02/1M input and $0.05/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Llama 3.1 8B Instruct lower by about $0.07 per million blended tokens. Availability is 2 providers versus 12, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Granite 3.3 8B Instruct when provider fit are central to the workload. Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct when provider fit, lower input-token cost, 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. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports 128K tokens, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct supports 128K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.03/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs $0.02/1M input and $0.05/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct open source?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is listed under Apache 2.0. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct 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 function calling, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct 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.
Which is better for tool use, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct has the clearer documented tool use signal in this comparison. If tool use is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is available on NVIDIA NIM and Replicate API. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is available on OctoAI API (Deprecated), Together AI, Fireworks AI, NVIDIA NIM, and GroqCloud. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-16. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.