Gemma 2 9B vs Llama 3 8B Instruct
Gemma 2 9B (2024) and Llama 3 8B Instruct (2024) are compact production models from Google DeepMind and AI at Meta. Gemma 2 9B ships a 8K-token context window, while Llama 3 8B Instruct ships a 8K-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Gemma 2 9B leads by 11.6 pts. On pricing, Llama 3 8B Instruct costs $0.03/1M input tokens versus $0.06/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Llama 3 8B Instruct is ~100% cheaper at $0.03/1M; pay for Gemma 2 9B only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Gemma 2 9B | Llama 3 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Decision fit | Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use | Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use |
| Context window | 8K | 8K |
| Cheapest output | $0.18/1M tokens | $0.04/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 3 tracked | 16 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | MMLU PRO leader | 3 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Gemma 2 9B leads the largest shared benchmark signal on MMLU PRO by 11.6 points.
- Local decision data tags Gemma 2 9B for Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
- Llama 3 8B Instruct leads the largest shared benchmark signal on HumanEval by 9.8 points.
- Llama 3 8B Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.04/1M tokens.
- Llama 3 8B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3 8B Instruct for Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.
Gemma 2 9B
$93.00
Cheapest tracked route: GCP Vertex AI
Llama 3 8B Instruct
$34.00
Cheapest tracked route: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $59.00. Batch, cache, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on Fireworks AI and GCP Vertex AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 3 8B Instruct is $0.14/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Provider overlap exists on GCP Vertex AI and Fireworks AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Gemma 2 9B is $0.14/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-06-27 | 2024-04-18 |
| Context window | 8K | 8K |
| Parameters | 9B | 8B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Open Source | Open Source |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Gemma 2 9B | Llama 3 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.06/1M tokens | $0.03/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.18/1M tokens | $0.04/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Gemma 2 9B | Llama 3 8B 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 |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemma 2 9B | Llama 3 8B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 52.1 | 40.5 |
| HumanEval | 58.4 | 68.2 |
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 71.5 | 76.9 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has Gemma 2 9B at 52.1 and Llama 3 8B Instruct at 40.5, with Gemma 2 9B ahead by 11.6 points; HumanEval has Gemma 2 9B at 58.4 and Llama 3 8B Instruct at 68.2, with Llama 3 8B Instruct ahead by 9.8 points; Massive Multitask Language Understanding has Gemma 2 9B at 71.5 and Llama 3 8B Instruct at 76.9, with Llama 3 8B Instruct ahead by 5.4 points. The largest visible gap is 11.6 points on MMLU PRO, 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, Gemma 2 9B lists $0.06/1M input and $0.18/1M output tokens, while Llama 3 8B Instruct lists $0.03/1M input and $0.04/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Llama 3 8B Instruct lower by about $0.06 per million blended tokens. Availability is 3 providers versus 16, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Gemma 2 9B when provider fit are central to the workload. Choose Llama 3 8B Instruct when provider fit, lower input-token cost, 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, Gemma 2 9B or Llama 3 8B Instruct?
Gemma 2 9B supports 8K tokens, while Llama 3 8B 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, Gemma 2 9B or Llama 3 8B Instruct?
Llama 3 8B Instruct is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Gemma 2 9B costs $0.06/1M input and $0.18/1M output tokens. Llama 3 8B Instruct costs $0.03/1M input and $0.04/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Gemma 2 9B or Llama 3 8B Instruct open source?
Gemma 2 9B is listed under Open Source. Llama 3 8B Instruct 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, Gemma 2 9B or Llama 3 8B Instruct?
Both Gemma 2 9B and Llama 3 8B 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 Gemma 2 9B and Llama 3 8B Instruct?
Gemma 2 9B is available on GCP Vertex AI, Fireworks AI, and Bitdeer AI. Llama 3 8B Instruct is available on AWS Bedrock, DeepInfra, OctoAI API (Deprecated), Fireworks AI, and Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Gemma 2 9B over Llama 3 8B Instruct?
Llama 3 8B Instruct is ~100% cheaper at $0.03/1M; pay for Gemma 2 9B only for provider fit. If your workload also depends on provider fit, start with Gemma 2 9B; if it depends on provider fit, run the same evaluation with Llama 3 8B Instruct.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-16. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.