Llama 3.1 405B vs Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
Llama 3.1 405B (2024) and Llama 3.1 70B Instruct (2024) are compact production models from AI at Meta. Llama 3.1 405B ships a 128k-token context window, while Llama 3.1 70B Instruct ships a 128k-token context window. On HumanEval, Llama 3.1 405B leads by 4.9 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 is safer overall; choose Llama 3.1 70B Instruct when provider fit matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 3.1 405B | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | general production evaluation | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, Long context, and Classification | Coding, RAG, and Long context |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | - | $0.40/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 0 tracked | 13 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | HumanEval leader | 3 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 3.1 405B holds a shared-benchmark lead on HumanEval, ahead by 4.9 points.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 405B for Coding, Long context, and Classification.
- Llama 3.1 70B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Llama 3.1 70B Instruct uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 70B Instruct for Coding, RAG, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Llama 3.1 405B
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
$420
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Hyperbolic AI Inference
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Llama 3.1 405B and Llama 3.1 70B Instruct; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Llama 3.1 70B Instruct adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Llama 3.1 70B Instruct and Llama 3.1 405B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-07-23 | 2024-07-23 |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Parameters | 405B | 70B |
| 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 | 2023-12 | 2023-12 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 3.1 405B | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $0.40/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $0.40/1M tokens |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 3.1 405B | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Llama 3.1 405B | Llama 3.1 70B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| HumanEval | 89.0 | 84.1 |
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 88.6 | 86.0 |
| HellaSwag | 95.8 | 94.2 |
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Last reviewed: 2026-09-18. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.