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ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (Meta) and Llama 3.2 3B 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 22 September 2026

As of 22 September 2026, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#228 vs #251); and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 4.1× cheaper per output token ($0.08/1M vs $0.33/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #228 against #251 (9.7 vs 6.2 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.08/1M output tokens against $0.33/1M, about 4.1× cheaper.
  • you want provider choice — 5 listed API providers against 2.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1260 against 1177.
  • BFCL V4 is your yardstick — 25.8 against 22.0.

Choose Llama 3.2 3B Instruct if…

  • you want the more recently listed model — Llama 3.2 3B Instruct was listed 25 September 2024, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct 23 July 2024.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
FieldLlama 3.1 8B InstructMetaLlama 3.2 3B InstructMeta
ModelCap Index position#228#251
Index score9.76.2
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.05$0.05
Output price / 1M tokens$0.08$0.33
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Max output tokens118K118K
API providers listed52
Weight accessGated accessGated access
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed23 July 202425 September 2024
PublisherMetaMeta

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: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Public benchmark boards where Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Llama 3.2 3B Instruct has a published result
BoardLlama 3.1 8B InstructLlama 3.2 3B InstructLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)12601252–126711771160–1193Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)25.8Prompt22.0Function callingLlama 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.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct: common questions

Is Llama 3.1 8B Instruct better than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 22 September 2026: #228 against #251. 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 Llama 3.1 8B Instruct cheaper than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper on output tokens: $0.08/1M against $0.33/1M. Input tokens are $0.05/1M for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and $0.05/1M for Llama 3.2 3B 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 Llama 3.1 8B Instruct versus $0.27 for Llama 3.2 3B Instruct. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs 47.2% 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, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Both publish a 131K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Arena coding: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct 1260, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct 1177 — Llama 3.1 8B Instruct leads.

Are Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct open-weight models?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct: Gated access. Llama 3.2 3B 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 Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

ModelCap currently lists 5 API providers for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and 2 for Llama 3.2 3B Instruct, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 22 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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