LLM Reference

Grok 4 vs Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8

Grok 4 (2025) and Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 (2025) are frontier reasoning models from xAI and AI at Meta. Grok 4 ships a 256k-token context window, while Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 ships a 1m-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Grok 4 leads by 6.5 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.

Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is ~733% cheaper at $0.15/1M; pay for Grok 4 only for coding workflow support.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalGrok 4Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8
Best forreasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agentsmultimodal apps, long-context analysis, and provider-routed production
Decision fitCoding, RAG, and AgentsCoding, RAG, and Agents
Context window256k1m
Cheapest output$2.50/1M tokens$0.60/1M tokens
Provider routes4 tracked11 tracked
Shared benchmarksMMLU PRO leader5 shared

Decision tradeoffs

Choose Grok 4 when...
  • Grok 4 holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 6.5 points.
  • Grok 4 uniquely exposes Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Code execution in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags Grok 4 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Choose Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 when...
  • Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
  • Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.60/1M tokens.
  • Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
  • 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.

Lower estimate Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8

Grok 4

$1,625

Cheapest tracked route/tier: xAI Console

Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8

$270

Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter

Estimated monthly gap: $1,355. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

Grok 4 -> Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8
  • Provider overlap exists on Microsoft Foundry and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is $1.90/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
  • Check replacement coverage for Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Code execution before moving production traffic.
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 -> Grok 4
  • Provider overlap exists on Microsoft Foundry and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Grok 4 is $1.90/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
  • Grok 4 adds Reasoning, JSON / Tool use, and Code execution in local capability data.

Specs

Specification
Released2025-07-092025-04-05
Context window256k1m
Parameters—400B (17B active)
ArchitectureDecoder OnlyMixture of Experts
LicenseProprietaryLlama 4 Community
OpennessProprietaryOpen weights
WeightsNot releasedUnknown
CodeUnknownUnknown
Commercial useCommercial use: conditionalCommercial use: conditional
Knowledge cutoff-2024-08

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeGrok 4Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8
Input price$1.25/1M tokens$0.15/1M tokens
Output price$2.50/1M tokens$0.60/1M tokens
Providers

Capabilities

CapabilityGrok 4Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8
VisionYesYes
MultimodalYesYes
ReasoningYesNo
JSON / Tool useYesNo
Structured outputsYesYes
Code executionYesNo
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

BenchmarkGrok 4Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8
MMLU PRO87.080.5
Google-Proof Q&A87.567.1
LiveCodeBench79.043.4
Aider Polyglot79.615.6
τ-bench78.968.5

Continue comparing

Last reviewed: 2026-07-10. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.