Llama 3 70B Instruct vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Llama 3 70B Instruct (2024) and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct (2024) are compact production models from AI at Meta. Llama 3 70B Instruct ships a 8k-token context window, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ships a 128k-token context window. On Massive Multitask Language Understanding, Llama 3.1 405B Instruct leads by 6.6 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Llama 3 70B Instruct is ~500% cheaper at $0.40/1M; pay for Llama 3.1 405B Instruct only for long-context analysis.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 3 70B Instruct | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use | RAG, Long context, and Classification |
| Context window | 8k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $0.40/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 18 tracked | 11 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 1 rows | Massive Multitask Language Understanding leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 3 70B Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.40/1M tokens.
- Llama 3 70B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3 70B Instruct for Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct holds a shared-benchmark lead on Massive Multitask Language Understanding, ahead by 6.6 points.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 405B Instruct 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 70B Instruct
$420
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Hyperbolic AI Inference
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
$2,520
Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock
Estimated monthly gap: $2,100. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OctoAI API (Deprecated), Together AI, and Fireworks AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is $2/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, and Microsoft Foundry; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 3 70B Instruct is $2/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-04-18 | 2024-07-23 |
| Context window | 8k | 128k |
| Parameters | 70B | 405B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Llama 3 Community | Llama 3 Community |
| Openness | Open weights | Open weights |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use with conditions |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-12 | 2023-12 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 3 70B Instruct | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.40/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.40/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 3 70B Instruct | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Llama 3 70B Instruct | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 82.0 | 88.6 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Massive Multitask Language Understanding has Llama 3 70B Instruct at 82 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct at 88.6, with Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ahead by 6.6 points. The largest visible gap is 6.6 points on Massive Multitask Language Understanding, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint is close: both models cover structured outputs. That makes context budget, benchmark fit, and provider maturity more important than a simple checklist. If your application depends on one integration detail, verify it against the provider route you plan to use, not just the base model listing.
For cost, Llama 3 70B Instruct lists $0.40/1M input and $0.40/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct lists $2.40/1M input and $2.40/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Llama 3 70B Instruct lower by about $2 per million blended tokens. Availability is 18 providers versus 11, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Llama 3 70B Instruct when provider fit, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Llama 3.1 405B Instruct when long-context analysis and larger context windows 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 3 70B Instruct or Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct supports 128k tokens, while Llama 3 70B Instruct supports 8k 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 3 70B Instruct or Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?
Llama 3 70B Instruct is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Llama 3 70B Instruct costs $0.40/1M input and $0.40/1M output tokens. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct costs $2.40/1M input and $2.40/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Llama 3 70B Instruct or Llama 3.1 405B Instruct open source?
Llama 3 70B Instruct is listed under Llama 3 Community. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is listed under Llama 3 Community. 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 3 70B Instruct or Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?
Both Llama 3 70B Instruct and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct expose structured outputs. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run Llama 3 70B Instruct and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?
Llama 3 70B Instruct is available on GCP Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, Microsoft Foundry, NVIDIA NIM, and DeepInfra. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is available on OctoAI API (Deprecated), Together AI, Fireworks AI, IBM watsonx, and Scale AI GenAI Platform. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Llama 3 70B Instruct over Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?
Llama 3 70B Instruct is ~500% cheaper at $0.40/1M; pay for Llama 3.1 405B Instruct only for long-context analysis. If your workload also depends on provider fit, start with Llama 3 70B Instruct; if it depends on long-context analysis, run the same evaluation with Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-22. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.