Llama 3.1 405B Instruct vs Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct (2024) and Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings (2025) are compact production models from AI at Meta and Amazon Web Services (AWS) AI. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ships a 128K-token context window, while Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings ships a not-yet-sourced context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings is safer overall; choose Llama 3.1 405B Instruct when provider fit matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings |
|---|---|---|
| Decision fit | RAG, Long context, and Classification | General |
| Context window | 128K | — |
| Cheapest output | $2.4/1M tokens | - |
| Provider routes | 11 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 405B Instruct for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
- Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings uniquely exposes Multimodal in local model data.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
$2,520
Cheapest tracked route: AWS Bedrock
Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on AWS Bedrock; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings adds Multimodal in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on AWS Bedrock; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Check replacement coverage for Multimodal before moving production traffic.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-07-23 | 2025-12-01 |
| Context window | 128K | — |
| Parameters | 405B | — |
| Architecture | decoder only | - |
| License | Open Source | Proprietary |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $2.4/1M tokens | - |
| Output price | $2.4/1M tokens | - |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on multimodal input: Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings and structured outputs: Llama 3.1 405B Instruct. Both models share the core language-model surface, 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.
Pricing coverage is uneven: Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has $2.4/1M input tokens and Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 11 tracked routes versus 1. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Llama 3.1 405B Instruct when provider fit and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings when provider fit are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency.
FAQ
Is Llama 3.1 405B Instruct or Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings open source?
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is listed under Open Source. Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings is listed under Proprietary. 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 multimodal input, Llama 3.1 405B Instruct or Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings?
Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings 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.
Which is better for structured outputs, Llama 3.1 405B Instruct or Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings?
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has the clearer documented structured outputs signal in this comparison. If structured outputs 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 Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings?
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is available on OctoAI API (Deprecated), Together AI, Fireworks AI, IBM watsonx, and Scale AI GenAI Platform. Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings is available on AWS Bedrock. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Llama 3.1 405B Instruct over Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings?
Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings is safer overall; choose Llama 3.1 405B Instruct when provider fit matters. If your workload also depends on provider fit, start with Llama 3.1 405B Instruct; if it depends on provider fit, run the same evaluation with Amazon Nova Multimodal Embeddings.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-16. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.