Llama 3 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.1 405B
Llama 3 8B Instruct (2024) and Llama 3.1 405B (2024) are compact production models from AI at Meta. Llama 3 8B Instruct ships a 8k-token context window, while Llama 3.1 405B ships a 128k-token context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, Llama 3.1 405B leads by 6.7 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Llama 3.1 405B fits 16x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Llama 3 8B Instruct for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 3 8B Instruct | Llama 3.1 405B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | general production evaluation |
| Decision fit | Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use | Coding, Long context, and Classification |
| Context window | 8k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $0.05/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 17 tracked | 0 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 5 shared | Google-Proof Q&A leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 3 8B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Llama 3 8B Instruct uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3 8B Instruct for Coding, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
- Llama 3.1 405B holds a shared-benchmark lead on Google-Proof Q&A, ahead by 6.7 points.
- Llama 3.1 405B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 405B for Coding, 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 8B Instruct
$28.50
Cheapest tracked route/tier: DeepInfra
Llama 3.1 405B
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 3 8B Instruct and Llama 3.1 405B; 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 Llama 3.1 405B and Llama 3 8B Instruct; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Llama 3 8B Instruct adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-04-18 | 2024-07-23 |
| Context window | 8k | 128k |
| Parameters | 8B | 405B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Llama 3 Community | Llama 3 Community |
| Openness | Open weights | Open weights |
| Weights | Available | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-03 | 2023-12 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 3 8B Instruct | Llama 3.1 405B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.02/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $0.05/1M tokens | - |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 3 8B Instruct | Llama 3.1 405B |
|---|---|---|
| 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
| Benchmark | Llama 3 8B Instruct | Llama 3.1 405B |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 44.8 | 51.5 |
| HumanEval | 68.2 | 89.0 |
| Grade School Math 8K | 80.6 | 95.7 |
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 76.9 | 88.6 |
| HellaSwag | 91.1 | 95.8 |
Continue comparing
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- DeepSeek V4 Flash vs Llama 3 8B Instruct
- Llama 3 8B Instruct vs Qwen3.6-35B-A3B
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- Claude Opus 4.6 vs Llama 3 8B Instruct
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.