Model Comparison

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B vs Llama 3.2 3B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 10.2x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct — which is better?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B (by Google) and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct (by Meta) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH), while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is roughly 10.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window

Choose Llama 3.2 3B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 10.2x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2024
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH), while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jun 12 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B ($0.07/1M tokens) is 7.0x more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct ($0.01/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B ($0.30/1M tokens) is 15.0x more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct ($0.02/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Jun 12 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
Input tokens$0.07
Output tokens$0.30
Best providerGoogle
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Input tokens$0.01
Output tokens$0.02
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

4.8B diff

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B has 4.8B more parameters than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct, making it 149.2% larger.

Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
8.0Bparameters
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
3.2Bparameters
8.0B
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
3.2B
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Llama 3.2 3B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is limited to 8,192 tokens.

Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Fri Jun 12 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B supports multimodal inputs, whereas Llama 3.2 3B Instruct does not.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is licensed under a proprietary license, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct uses Llama 3.2 Community License.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

Proprietary

Closed source

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Llama 3.2 Community License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B was released on 2024-03-15, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct was released on 2024-09-25.

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 6 months newer than Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

Mar 15, 2024

2.2 years ago

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Sep 25, 2024

1.7 years ago

6mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-10-01, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B's training data extends to 2024-10-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Llama 3.2 3B Instruct's cutoff date.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

Oct 2024

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

—

Provider Availability

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is available from Google. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is available from DeepInfra.

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.07/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.30/1M

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.01/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.02/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (38.4% vs 32.8%)
Higher MATH score (58.7% vs 48.0%)
Meta
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
GoogleGemini 1.5 Flash 8B
MetaLlama 3.2 3B Instruct
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct.

Which is better, Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B or Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is made by Google and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is made by Meta. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B compare to Llama 3.2 3B Instruct in benchmarks?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B scores XSTest: 92.6%, FLEURS: 86.4%, Natural2Code: 75.5%, WMT23: 72.6%, Video-MME: 66.2%. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct scores NIH/Multi-needle: 84.7%, ARC-C: 78.6%, GSM8k: 77.7%, IFEval: 77.4%, HellaSwag: 69.8%.

Is Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B cheaper than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 7.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B costs $0.07/M input and $0.30/M output via google. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct costs $0.01/M input and $0.02/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B supports 1.0M tokens and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($0.07 vs $0.01/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Llama 3.2 Community License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct?

Gemini 1.5 Flash 8B is developed by Google and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is developed by Meta.

Related comparisons