Gemma 2 9B vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct leads the LLM Stats Score 14.9 to -4.8.
Google · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct leads the overall LLM Stats Score 14.9 to -4.8, ranking #218 overall.
In the 5 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Llama 3.1 405B Instruct wins 5; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Gemma 2 9B
- you are already invested in the Google ecosystem
Choose Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
- overall performance matters — it scores 14.9 and ranks #218 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 5 of 5 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2024
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
16 reported for Gemma 2 9B · 18 for Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Gemma 2 9B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (ARC-C, GSM8k, HumanEval, MATH, MMLU).
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct has 395.8B more parameters than Gemma 2 9B, making it 4283.1% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Llama 3.1 405B Instruct specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Llama 3.1 405B Instruct specifies output context (128,000 tokens).
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 2 9B is licensed under Gemma, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct uses Llama 3.1 Community License.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Gemma
Open weights
Llama 3.1 Community License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Gemma 2 9B was released on 2024-06-27, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is 1 month newer than Gemma 2 9B.
Jun 27, 2024
2.2 years ago
Jul 23, 2024
2.1 years ago
3w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 2 9B and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 2 9B vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.