GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
GPT-3.5 Turbo and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct are closely matched at -9.4 and -6.1 on the LLM Stats Score. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 60.0x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GPT-3.5 Turbo and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at -9.4 and -6.1.
In the 4 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct wins 3; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is roughly 60.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose GPT-3.5 Turbo
- you want predictable pricing at $0.50/M input and $1.50/M output
Choose Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 3 of 4 exact shared results
- cost matters — it's about 60.0x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2024
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
8 reported for GPT-3.5 Turbo · 15 for Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMLU), while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH, MGSM).
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-3.5 Turbo ($0.50/1M tokens) is 50.0x more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct ($0.01/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-3.5 Turbo ($1.50/1M tokens) is 75.0x more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct ($0.02/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-3.5 Turbo is more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo's 16,385 tokens. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while GPT-3.5 Turbo is limited to 4,096 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-3.5 Turbo 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.
Proprietary
Closed source
Llama 3.2 Community License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-3.5 Turbo was released on 2023-03-21, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct was released on 2024-09-25.
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 18 months newer than GPT-3.5 Turbo.
Mar 21, 2023
3.5 years ago
Sep 25, 2024
2.0 years ago
1.5yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-3.5 Turbo has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2021-09-30, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-3.5 Turbo's training data extends to 2021-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Llama 3.2 3B Instruct's cutoff date.
Sep 2021
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Provider Availability
GPT-3.5 Turbo is available from Azure, OpenAI. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is available from DeepInfra.
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-3.5 Turbo and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct.