Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct vs Llama Guard 3 1B
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct (2025) and Llama Guard 3 1B (2024) are general-purpose language models from AI at Meta. Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct ships a 328K-token context window, while Llama Guard 3 1B ships a not-yet-sourced context window. On pricing, Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct costs $0.08/1M input tokens versus $0.1/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is safer overall; choose Llama Guard 3 1B when provider fit matters.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-04-05 | 2024-09-25 |
| Context window | 328K | — |
| Parameters | 17B | 1B |
| Architecture | mixture of experts | decoder only |
| License | Open Source | Open Source |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct | Llama Guard 3 1B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.08/1M tokens | $0.1/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.3/1M tokens | $0.1/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct | Llama Guard 3 1B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on structured outputs: Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E 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, Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct lists $0.08/1M input and $0.3/1M output tokens, while Llama Guard 3 1B lists $0.1/1M input and $0.1/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Llama Guard 3 1B lower by about $0.05 per million blended tokens. Availability is 8 providers versus 1, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct when provider fit, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Llama Guard 3 1B when provider fit 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. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct or Llama Guard 3 1B?
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct costs $0.08/1M input and $0.3/1M output tokens. Llama Guard 3 1B costs $0.1/1M input and $0.1/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct or Llama Guard 3 1B open source?
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is listed under Open Source. Llama Guard 3 1B 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 structured outputs, Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct or Llama Guard 3 1B?
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct has the clearer documented structured outputs signal in this comparison. If structured outputs is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct and Llama Guard 3 1B?
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is available on OpenRouter, Together AI, Fireworks AI, DeepInfra, and GCP Vertex AI. Llama Guard 3 1B is available on Fireworks AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct over Llama Guard 3 1B?
Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct is safer overall; choose Llama Guard 3 1B when provider fit matters. If your workload also depends on provider fit, start with Llama 4 Scout 17B-16E Instruct; if it depends on provider fit, run the same evaluation with Llama Guard 3 1B.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.