Llama 3.1 405B Instruct vs Qwen-Max
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct (2024) and Qwen-Max (2024) are compact production models from AI at Meta and Alibaba. Both ship a 128k-token context window. On pricing, Qwen-Max costs $1.04/1M input tokens versus $2.40/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
Qwen-Max is ~131% cheaper at $1.04/1M; pay for Llama 3.1 405B Instruct only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | Qwen-Max |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | multimodal apps |
| Decision fit | RAG, Long context, and Classification | RAG, Long context, and Vision |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $2.40/1M tokens | $4.16/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 11 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $2.40/1M tokens.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 405B Instruct for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
- Qwen-Max uniquely exposes Vision in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen-Max for RAG, Long context, and Vision.
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
Qwen-Max
$1,872
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $648. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Llama 3.1 405B Instruct and Qwen-Max; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Qwen-Max is $1.76/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Qwen-Max adds Vision in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen-Max and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is $1.76/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-07-23 | 2024-05-11 |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Parameters | 405B | — |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Llama 3 Community | Unknown / Unverified |
| Openness | Open weights | Unverified |
| Weights | Available | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: unknown |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-12 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | Qwen-Max |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $2.40/1M tokens | $1.04/1M tokens |
| Output price | $2.40/1M tokens | $4.16/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 3.1 405B Instruct | Qwen-Max |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / 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
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-08-31. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.