Gemma 2 9B vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Gemma 2 9B and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct are closely matched at -4.8 and -2.5 on the LLM Stats Score.
Google · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Gemma 2 9B and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at -4.8 and -2.5.
In the 3 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct wins 2; 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 8B Instruct
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 3 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 8B Instruct
Gemma 2 9B outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMLU), while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (ARC-C, HumanEval).
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Gemma 2 9B has 1.2B more parameters than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, making it 15.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Llama 3.1 8B Instruct specifies input context (131,072 tokens). Only Llama 3.1 8B Instruct specifies output context (131,072 tokens).
License
Usage and distribution terms
Gemma 2 9B is licensed under Gemma, while Llama 3.1 8B 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 8B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.
Llama 3.1 8B 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
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while Gemma 2 9B's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Llama 3.1 8B Instruct's training data extends to 2023-12-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Gemma 2 9B's cutoff date.
—
Dec 2023
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Gemma 2 9B and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Gemma 2 9B vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.