Model Comparison

Grok-3 Mini vs Llama 3.2 90B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-3 Mini is 1.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Grok-3 Mini vs Llama 3.2 90B Instruct — which is better?

Grok-3 Mini (by xAI) and Llama 3.2 90B 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.

Grok-3 Mini outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Grok-3 Mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Feb 2025

Choose Llama 3.2 90B Instruct if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Grok-3 Mini outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Grok-3 Mini costs less

For input processing, Grok-3 Mini ($0.30/1M tokens) is 1.2x cheaper than Llama 3.2 90B Instruct ($0.35/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok-3 Mini ($0.50/1M tokens) is 1.3x more expensive than Llama 3.2 90B Instruct ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is more expensive than Grok-3 Mini.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerxAI
Meta
Llama 3.2 90B Instruct
Input tokens$0.35
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. Llama 3.2 90B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Grok-3 Mini is limited to 8,000 tokens.

xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Meta
Llama 3.2 90B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Grok-3 Mini and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Grok-3 Mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok-3 Mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Llama 3.2 90B Instruct uses Llama 3.2.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Grok-3 Mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

Llama 3.2

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-3 Mini was released on 2025-02-17, while Llama 3.2 90B Instruct was released on 2024-09-25.

Grok-3 Mini is 5 months newer than Llama 3.2 90B Instruct.

Grok-3 Mini

Feb 17, 2025

1.4 years ago

4mo newer
Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

Sep 25, 2024

1.8 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-3 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while Llama 3.2 90B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-3 Mini's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without Llama 3.2 90B Instruct's cutoff date.

Grok-3 Mini

Nov 2024

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

—

Provider Availability

Grok-3 Mini is available from xAI. Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Bedrock, Fireworks, Together, Hyperbolic.

Grok-3 Mini

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M

Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.35/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.72/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.72/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.89/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.89/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $1.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
hyperbolic logo
Hyperbolic
Input Price:Input: $2.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

xAI
Less expensive input tokens
Higher GPQA score (84.0% vs 46.7%)
Meta
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
xAIGrok-3 Mini
MetaLlama 3.2 90B Instruct
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok-3 Mini and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok-3 Mini
✓ Preferred
Llama 3.2 90B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Meta
Llama 3.2 90B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-3 Mini vs Llama 3.2 90B Instruct.

Which is better, Grok-3 Mini or Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Grok-3 Mini significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-3 Mini is made by xAI and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is made by Meta. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Grok-3 Mini compare to Llama 3.2 90B Instruct in benchmarks?

Grok-3 Mini scores AIME 2024: 95.8%, AIME 2025: 90.8%, GPQA: 84.0%, LiveCodeBench: 80.4%. Llama 3.2 90B Instruct scores AI2D: 92.3%, DocVQA: 90.1%, MGSM: 86.9%, MMLU: 86.0%, ChartQA: 85.5%.

Is Grok-3 Mini cheaper than Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Grok-3 Mini is 1.2x cheaper for input tokens. Grok-3 Mini costs $0.30/M input and $0.50/M output via xai. Llama 3.2 90B Instruct costs $0.35/M input and $0.40/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-3 Mini and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Grok-3 Mini supports 128K tokens and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Grok-3 Mini and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Key differences include input pricing ($0.30 vs $0.35/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Llama 3.2). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok-3 Mini and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct?

Grok-3 Mini is developed by xAI and Llama 3.2 90B Instruct is developed by Meta.

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