Llama 3.1 405B vs Qwen2-72B
Llama 3.1 405B (2024) and Qwen2-72B (2024) are compact production models from AI at Meta and Alibaba. Llama 3.1 405B ships a 128k-token context window, while Qwen2-72B ships a 128k-token context window. On HumanEval, Llama 3.1 405B leads by 21.9 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 Qwen2-72B when provider fit matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 3.1 405B | Qwen2-72B |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | - | $0.65/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 0 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | HumanEval leader | 2 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 3.1 405B holds a shared-benchmark lead on HumanEval, ahead by 21.9 points.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 405B for Coding, Long context, and Classification.
- Qwen2-72B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Qwen2-72B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen2-72B 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
Qwen2-72B
$523
Cheapest tracked route/tier: DeepInfra
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 Qwen2-72B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Qwen2-72B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen2-72B 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 | 2024-06-05 |
| Context window | 128k | 128k |
| Parameters | 405B | 72.71B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Llama 3 Community | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Open weights | Open source |
| Weights | Available | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-12 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 3.1 405B | Qwen2-72B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $0.45/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $0.65/1M tokens |
| Providers | - |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 3.1 405B | Qwen2-72B |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Qwen2-72B |
|---|---|---|
| HumanEval | 89.0 | 67.1 |
| Massive Multitask Language Understanding | 88.6 | 84.2 |
Continue comparing
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- Llama 3.1 405B vs Qwen2.5-14B-Instruct
- Llama 3 70B Instruct vs Llama 3.1 405B
- Llama 3.1 405B vs Mistral Large 2
- Llama 3 70B vs Llama 3.1 405B
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Last reviewed: 2026-07-09. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.