GPT-4 vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is 42.1x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GPT-4 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (DROP, GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MMLU). Llama 3.1 405B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is roughly 42.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Llama 3.1 405B 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 benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose GPT-4
- you want predictable pricing at $30.00/M input and $60.00/M output
Choose Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 5 shared benchmarks
- cost matters — it's about 42.1x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2024
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GPT-4 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (DROP, GPQA, HumanEval, MATH, MMLU).
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-4 ($30.00/1M tokens) is 33.7x more expensive than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ($0.89/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-4 ($60.00/1M tokens) is 67.4x more expensive than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ($0.89/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-4 is more expensive than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to GPT-4's 32,768 tokens. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while GPT-4 is limited to 32,768 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
GPT-4 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Llama 3.1 405B Instruct does not.
GPT-4 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GPT-4
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-4 is licensed under a proprietary license, 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.
Proprietary
Closed source
Llama 3.1 Community License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-4 was released on 2023-06-13, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is 14 months newer than GPT-4.
Jun 13, 2023
3.2 years ago
Jul 23, 2024
2.1 years ago
1.1yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-4 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2022-12-31, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-4's training data extends to 2022-12-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Llama 3.1 405B Instruct's cutoff date.
Dec 2022
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Provider Availability
GPT-4 is available from Azure, OpenAI. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Fireworks, Bedrock, Together, Hyperbolic, Google, Replicate.
GPT-4
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-4 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-4 vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.