Llama 3.2 1B vs Qwen3-9B
Llama 3.2 1B (2024) and Qwen3-9B (2025) are compact production models from AI at Meta and Alibaba. Llama 3.2 1B ships a 128k-token context window, while Qwen3-9B ships a 256k-token context window. On pricing, Qwen3-9B costs $0.04/1M input tokens versus $0.10/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Qwen3-9B is ~150% cheaper at $0.04/1M; pay for Llama 3.2 1B only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 3.2 1B | Qwen3-9B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | general production evaluation | general production evaluation |
| Decision fit | Coding, Long context, and Classification | RAG, Long context, and Classification |
| Context window | 128k | 256k |
| Cheapest output | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.20/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 3.2 1B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.10/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.2 1B for Coding, Long context, and Classification.
- Qwen3-9B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Qwen3-9B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3-9B for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Llama 3.2 1B
$105
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Fireworks AI
Qwen3-9B
$82.00
Cheapest tracked route/tier: DeepInfra
Estimated monthly gap: $23.00. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Llama 3.2 1B and Qwen3-9B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Qwen3-9B is $0.10/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Qwen3-9B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen3-9B and Llama 3.2 1B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Llama 3.2 1B is $0.10/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-09-25 | 2025-04-28 |
| Context window | 128k | 256k |
| Parameters | 1.23B | 9B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Llama 3 Community | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Open weights | Open source |
| Weights | Unknown | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-12 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 3.2 1B | Qwen3-9B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.04/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.20/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 3.2 1B | Qwen3-9B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / 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.
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-09. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.