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ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Nova Micro 1.0 vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Nova Micro 1.0 (Amazon) and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (Meta) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 9 September 2026

As of 9 September 2026, Nova Micro 1.0 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#155 vs #157); Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 1.8× cheaper per output token ($0.08/1M vs $0.14/1M); and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct offers the longer context window (131K vs 128K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Nova Micro 1.0 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #155 against #157 (10.9 vs 7.6 points).
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.035/1M against $0.05/1M.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1288 against 1260.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Nova Micro 1.0 was listed 5 December 2024, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct 23 July 2024.

Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct if…

  • API cost matters — $0.08/1M output tokens against $0.14/1M, about 1.8× cheaper.
  • you need the longer context window — 131K tokens against 128K.
  • you want provider choice — 5 listed API providers against 1.
  • BFCL V4 is your yardstick — 25.8 against 22.3.

Nova Micro 1.0 vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Nova Micro 1.0 and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
FieldNova Micro 1.0AmazonLlama 3.1 8B InstructMeta
ModelCap Index position#155#157
Index score10.97.6
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.035$0.05
Output price / 1M tokens$0.14$0.08
Context window128K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens5K118K
API providers listed15
Weight accessAPI onlyGated access
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed5 December 202423 July 2024
PublisherAmazonMeta

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Nova Micro 1.0 vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Public benchmark boards where Nova Micro 1.0 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a published result
BoardNova Micro 1.0Llama 3.1 8B InstructLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)12881278–129912601252–1267Nova Micro 1.0
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)22.3Function calling25.8PromptLlama 3.1 8B Instruct

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Nova Micro 1.0 vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct: common questions

Is Nova Micro 1.0 better than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Nova Micro 1.0 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 9 September 2026: #155 against #157. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is Nova Micro 1.0 cheaper than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper on output tokens: $0.08/1M against $0.14/1M. Input tokens are $0.035/1M for Nova Micro 1.0 and $0.05/1M for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $0.14 for Nova Micro 1.0 versus $0.14 for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs 0.0% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, Nova Micro 1.0 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has the larger context window: 131K tokens against 128K.

Which is better for coding, Nova Micro 1.0 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Arena coding: Nova Micro 1.0 1288, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct 1260 — Nova Micro 1.0 leads.

Are Nova Micro 1.0 and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct open-weight models?

Nova Micro 1.0: API only. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct: Gated access. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Nova Micro 1.0 and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Nova Micro 1.0 and 5 for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Nova Micro 1.0 vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 9 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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