Grok 4 vs Llama 3.2 1B Instruct
Grok 4 (2025) and Llama 3.2 1B Instruct (2024) are frontier reasoning models from xAI and AI at Meta. Grok 4 ships a 256k-token context window, while Llama 3.2 1B Instruct ships a 128k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Grok 4 leads by 67 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Llama 3.2 1B Instruct is ~4530% cheaper at $0.03/1M; pay for Grok 4 only for coding workflow support.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Grok 4 | Llama 3.2 1B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Long context |
| Context window | 256k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $2.50/1M tokens | $0.20/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 4 tracked | 7 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | MMLU PRO leader | 2 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Grok 4 holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 67 points.
- Grok 4 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Grok 4 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Grok 4 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.20/1M tokens.
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.2 1B Instruct for Coding, RAG, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Grok 4
$1,625
Cheapest tracked route/tier: xAI Console
Llama 3.2 1B Instruct
$71.85
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Cloudflare Workers AI
Estimated monthly gap: $1,553. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 3.2 1B Instruct is $2.30/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Grok 4 is $2.30/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Grok 4 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-07-09 | 2024-09-25 |
| Context window | 256k | 128k |
| Parameters | — | 1.23B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Proprietary | Llama 3 Community |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open weights |
| Weights | Not released | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2023-12 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Grok 4 | Llama 3.2 1B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.25/1M tokens | $0.03/1M tokens |
| Output price | $2.50/1M tokens | $0.20/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Grok 4 | Llama 3.2 1B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Grok 4 | Llama 3.2 1B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 87.0 | 20.0 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 87.5 | 25.6 |
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-10. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.