Llama Guard 3 1B vs Mistral Large 2
Llama Guard 3 1B (2024) and Mistral Large 2 (2025) are compact production models from AI at Meta and MistralAI. Llama Guard 3 1B ships a 128k-token context window, while Mistral Large 2 ships a 128k-token context window. On pricing, Llama Guard 3 1B costs $0.10/1M input tokens versus $0.48/1M 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.
Llama Guard 3 1B is ~380% cheaper at $0.10/1M; pay for Mistral Large 2 only for vision-heavy evaluation.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama Guard 3 1B | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | general production evaluation | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Long context and Classification | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $0.10/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama Guard 3 1B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.10/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Llama Guard 3 1B for Long context and Classification.
- Mistral Large 2 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Mistral Large 2 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Mistral Large 2 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.
Llama Guard 3 1B
$105
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Fireworks AI
Mistral Large 2
$984
Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock
Estimated monthly gap: $879. 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 Guard 3 1B and Mistral Large 2; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Mistral Large 2 is $2.30/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Mistral Large 2 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mistral Large 2 and Llama Guard 3 1B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Llama Guard 3 1B is $2.30/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-09-25 | 2025-11-25 |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Parameters | 1B | 123B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Llama 2 Community | Mistral License |
| Openness | Open weights | Open weights |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Non-commercial only |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-12 | 2025-07 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama Guard 3 1B | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.48/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.10/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama Guard 3 1B | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Mistral Large 2, multimodal input: Mistral Large 2, function calling: Mistral Large 2, tool use: Mistral Large 2, and structured outputs: Mistral Large 2. 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 Guard 3 1B lists $0.10/1M input and $0.10/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Mistral Large 2 lists $0.48/1M input and $2.40/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Llama Guard 3 1B lower by about $0.96 per million blended tokens. Availability is 1 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Llama Guard 3 1B when provider fit and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Large 2 when vision-heavy evaluation 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.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Llama Guard 3 1B or Mistral Large 2?
Llama Guard 3 1B supports 128k tokens, while Mistral Large 2 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, Llama Guard 3 1B or Mistral Large 2?
Llama Guard 3 1B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Llama Guard 3 1B costs $0.10/1M input and $0.10/1M output tokens. Mistral Large 2 costs $0.48/1M input and $2.40/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Llama Guard 3 1B or Mistral Large 2 open source?
Llama Guard 3 1B is listed under Llama 2 Community. Mistral Large 2 is listed under Mistral License. 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 vision, Llama Guard 3 1B or Mistral Large 2?
Mistral Large 2 has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for multimodal input, Llama Guard 3 1B or Mistral Large 2?
Mistral Large 2 has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Llama Guard 3 1B and Mistral Large 2?
Llama Guard 3 1B is available on Fireworks AI. Mistral Large 2 is available on OpenRouter, IBM watsonx, AWS Bedrock, and Mistral AI Studio. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-19. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.