Llama 3.1 405B Instruct vs Mistral Large 2
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct (2024) and Mistral Large 2 (2025) are compact production models from AI at Meta and MistralAI. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ships a 128k-token context window, while Mistral Large 2 ships a 128k-token context window. On Massive Multitask Language Understanding, Llama 3.1 405B Instruct leads by 4.6 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Mistral Large 2 is ~400% cheaper at $0.48/1M; pay for Llama 3.1 405B Instruct only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | RAG, Long context, and Classification | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $2.40/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 11 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | Massive Multitask Language Understanding leader | 1 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct holds a shared-benchmark lead on Massive Multitask Language Understanding, ahead by 4.6 points.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 405B Instruct for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
- 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 3.1 405B Instruct
$2,520
Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock
Mistral Large 2
$984
Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock
Estimated monthly gap: $1,536. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on IBM watsonx and AWS Bedrock; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Cheapest tracked output pricing is tied, so migration risk shifts to quality, latency, and provider packaging.
- Mistral Large 2 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on IBM watsonx and AWS Bedrock; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Cheapest tracked output pricing is tied, so migration risk shifts to quality, latency, and provider packaging.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-07-23 | 2025-11-25 |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Parameters | 405B | 123B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Llama 3 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 3.1 405B Instruct | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $2.40/1M tokens | $0.48/1M tokens |
| Output price | $2.40/1M tokens | $2.40/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 88.6 | 84.0 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Massive Multitask Language Understanding has Llama 3.1 405B Instruct at 88.6 and Mistral Large 2 at 84, with Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ahead by 4.6 points. The largest visible gap is 4.6 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 differs most on vision: Mistral Large 2, multimodal input: Mistral Large 2, function calling: Mistral Large 2, and tool use: Mistral Large 2. Both models share structured outputs, 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 3.1 405B Instruct lists $2.40/1M input and $2.40/1M 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 Mistral Large 2 lower by about $1.34 per million blended tokens. Availability is 11 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Llama 3.1 405B Instruct when provider fit and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Large 2 when vision-heavy evaluation and lower input-token cost 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 3.1 405B Instruct or Mistral Large 2?
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct 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 3.1 405B Instruct or Mistral Large 2?
Mistral Large 2 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct costs $2.40/1M input and $2.40/1M 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 3.1 405B Instruct or Mistral Large 2 open source?
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is listed under Llama 3 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 3.1 405B Instruct 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 3.1 405B Instruct 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 3.1 405B Instruct and Mistral Large 2?
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is available on OctoAI API (Deprecated), Together AI, Fireworks AI, IBM watsonx, and Scale AI GenAI Platform. 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: 2026-05-16. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.