Model Comparison

GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

GPT-3.5 Turbo shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 25.0x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 3 benchmarks (DROP, GPQA, MMLU), while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (HumanEval).

GPT-3.5 Turbo shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Fri Apr 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs less

For input processing, GPT-3.5 Turbo ($0.50/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens).

For output processing, GPT-3.5 Turbo ($1.50/1M tokens) is 50.0x more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens).

In conclusion, GPT-3.5 Turbo is more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Apr 17 2026 • llm-stats.com
OpenAI
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$1.50
Best providerAzure
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.03
Output tokens$0.03
Best providerLambda
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo's 16,385 tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while GPT-3.5 Turbo is limited to 4,096 tokens.

OpenAI
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Input16,385 tokens
Output4,096 tokens
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Fri Apr 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-3.5 Turbo is licensed under a proprietary license, 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.

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Proprietary

Closed source

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Llama 3.1 Community License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-3.5 Turbo was released on 2023-03-21, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 16 months newer than GPT-3.5 Turbo.

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Mar 21, 2023

3.1 years ago

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Jul 23, 2024

1.7 years ago

1.3yr newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-3.5 Turbo has a knowledge cutoff of 2021-09-30, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a cutoff of 2023-12-31.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has more recent training data (up to 2023-12-31), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo (2021-09-30).

GPT-3.5 Turbo

Sep 2021

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Dec 2023

2.3 yr newer

Provider Availability

GPT-3.5 Turbo is available from Azure, OpenAI. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Hyperbolic, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock.

GPT-3.5 Turbo

azure logo
Azure
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M
openai logo
OpenAI
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

lambda logo
Lambda
Input Price:Input: $0.03/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.03/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.05/1M
groq logo
Groq
Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.08/1M
sambanova logo
Sambanova
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M
cerebras logo
Cerebras
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
hyperbolic logo
Hyperbolic
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M
bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.22/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.22/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Higher DROP score (70.2% vs 59.5%)
Higher GPQA score (30.8% vs 30.4%)
Higher MMLU score (69.8% vs 69.4%)
Meta
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
Higher HumanEval score (72.6% vs 68.0%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

GPT-3.5 Turbo shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. GPT-3.5 Turbo is made by OpenAI and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is made by Meta. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.
GPT-3.5 Turbo scores DROP: 70.2%, MMLU: 69.8%, HumanEval: 68.0%, MGSM: 56.3%, MATH: 43.1%. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct scores GSM-8K (CoT): 84.5%, ARC-C: 83.4%, API-Bank: 82.6%, IFEval: 80.4%, BFCL: 76.1%.
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 16.7x cheaper for input tokens. GPT-3.5 Turbo costs $0.50/M input and $1.50/M output via azure. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs $0.03/M input and $0.03/M output via lambda.
GPT-3.5 Turbo supports 16K tokens and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct supports 131K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.
Key differences include context window (16K vs 131K), input pricing ($0.50 vs $0.03/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Llama 3.1 Community License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.
GPT-3.5 Turbo is developed by OpenAI and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is developed by Meta.