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Head-to-head comparison

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (Meta) and Llama 3.3 70B 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 7 November 2026

As of 7 November 2026, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#234 vs #306); and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 9.9× cheaper per output token ($0.08/1M vs $0.79/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct if…

  • API cost matters — $0.08/1M output tokens against $0.79/1M, about 9.9× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.05/1M against $0.59/1M.

Choose Llama 3.3 70B Instruct if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #234 against #306 (30.8 vs 13.2 points).
  • you want provider choice — 8 listed API providers against 4.
  • Arena text is your yardstick — 1318 against 1211.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1346 against 1259.
  • BFCL V4 is your yardstick — 31.9 against 25.8.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Llama 3.3 70B Instruct was listed 6 December 2024, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct 23 July 2024.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
FieldLlama 3.1 8B InstructMetaLlama 3.3 70B InstructMeta
ModelCap Index position#306#234
Index score13.230.8
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.05$0.59
Output price / 1M tokens$0.08$0.79
Context window131K tokens131K tokens
Declared route output cap118K33K
API providers listed48
Weight accessGated accessGated access
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed23 July 20246 December 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 3.3 70B Instruct

Public benchmark boards where Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct has a published result
BoardLlama 3.1 8B InstructLlama 3.3 70B InstructLeads
Arena textArena (LMArena)12111207–1215Not reported13181315–1322Not reportedLlama 3.3 70B Instruct
Arena codingArena (LMArena)12591252–126713461339–1352Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)25.8Prompt31.9Function callingLlama 3.3 70B 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 3.3 70B Instruct: common questions

Is Llama 3.1 8B Instruct better than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Llama 3.3 70B Instruct ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 7 November 2026: #234 against #306. 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 do not overlap, but the aggregate Index does not predict performance on every task; compare the relevant benchmark configurations before choosing.

Is Llama 3.1 8B Instruct cheaper than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper on output tokens: $0.08/1M against $0.79/1M. Input tokens are $0.05/1M for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and $0.59/1M for Llama 3.3 70B 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 $1.57 for Llama 3.3 70B Instruct. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs 91.1% 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 3.3 70B Instruct?

Both publish a 131K-token context window. OpenRouter catalogue or provider-endpoint declaration. Limits can vary by provider and prompt length; a model-wide maximum has not been independently verified.

Which is better for coding, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

Arena coding: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct 1259, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct 1346 — Llama 3.3 70B Instruct leads.

Are Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct open-weight models?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct: Gated access. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct: Gated access. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence. A missing weight link does not identify every API or chat product that offers a model.

Where can I run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct?

ModelCap currently lists 4 API providers for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and 8 for Llama 3.3 70B 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 3.3 70B Instruct comparison?

Every figure and ModelCap Index position comes from the same published snapshot dated 7 November 2026. Publication and page updates happen separately; use the snapshot date shown on the page.

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