Llama 2 13B Chat vs ShieldGemma 9B
Llama 2 13B Chat (2023) and ShieldGemma 9B (2024) are compact production models from AI at Meta and Google DeepMind. Llama 2 13B Chat ships a 4k-token context window, while ShieldGemma 9B ships a 8k-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
ShieldGemma 9B is safer overall; choose Llama 2 13B Chat when provider fit matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 2 13B Chat | ShieldGemma 9B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | general production evaluation |
| Decision fit | Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use | Classification |
| Context window | 4k | 8k |
| Cheapest output | $0.50/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 11 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 2 13B Chat has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Llama 2 13B Chat uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 2 13B Chat for Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
- ShieldGemma 9B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Local decision data tags ShieldGemma 9B for Classification.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Llama 2 13B Chat
$205
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Replicate API
ShieldGemma 9B
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Llama 2 13B Chat and ShieldGemma 9B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for ShieldGemma 9B and Llama 2 13B Chat; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Llama 2 13B Chat adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2023-07-18 | 2024-07-01 |
| Context window | 4k | 8k |
| Parameters | 13B | 9B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Llama 2 Community | Gemma |
| Openness | Open weights | Open weights |
| Weights | Available | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2022-09 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 2 13B Chat | ShieldGemma 9B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.10/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $0.50/1M tokens | - |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 2 13B Chat | ShieldGemma 9B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| 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.
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-09. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.