Model Comparison
GPT-4o vs Llama 3.1 8B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
GPT-4o significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 145.8x cheaper per token.
Verdict: GPT-4o vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct — which is better?
GPT-4o (by OpenAI) and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (by Meta) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.
GPT-4o outperforms in 4 benchmarks (GPQA, IFEval, MMLU, MMLU-Pro), while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-4o significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is roughly 145.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose GPT-4o if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 4 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2024
Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct if…
- cost matters — it's about 145.8x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GPT-4o outperforms in 4 benchmarks (GPQA, IFEval, MMLU, MMLU-Pro), while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
GPT-4o significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-4o ($2.50/1M tokens) is 83.3x more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-4o ($10.00/1M tokens) is 333.3x more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-4o is more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to GPT-4o's 128,000 tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while GPT-4o is limited to 16,384 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
GPT-4o supports multimodal inputs, whereas Llama 3.1 8B Instruct does not.
GPT-4o can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GPT-4o
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-4o 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.
Proprietary
Closed source
Llama 3.1 Community License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-4o was released on 2024-08-06, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.
GPT-4o is 0 month newer than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.
Aug 6, 2024
2.0 years ago
2w newerJul 23, 2024
2.0 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while GPT-4o'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 GPT-4o's cutoff date.
—
Dec 2023
Provider Availability
GPT-4o is available from Azure, OpenAI. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Hyperbolic, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock.
GPT-4o
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
GPT-4o
View detailsOpenAI
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-4o and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about GPT-4o vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.