Model Comparison

Grok-4.1 vs Llama 3.1 405B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Grok-4.1 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Grok-4.1 vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct — which is better?

Grok-4.1 (by xAI) and Llama 3.1 405B 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.

On price, Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is roughly 6.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Grok-4.1 also accepts a larger context window (256,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Grok-4.1 if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 256,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2025

Choose Llama 3.1 405B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 6.7x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Grok-4.1 and Llama 3.1 405B Instructdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Llama 3.1 405B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Grok-4.1 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 3.4x more expensive than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ($0.89/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok-4.1 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 16.9x more expensive than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct ($0.89/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok-4.1 is more expensive than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.*

* 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-4.1
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerxAI
Meta
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Input tokens$0.89
Output tokens$0.89
Best providerLambda
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Grok-4.1 accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Llama 3.1 405B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Grok-4.1 is limited to 8,000 tokens.

xAI
Grok-4.1
Input256,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Meta
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok-4.1 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Llama 3.1 405B Instruct does not.

Grok-4.1 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Grok-4.1

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Llama 3.1 405B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok-4.1 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.

Grok-4.1

Proprietary

Closed source

Llama 3.1 405B Instruct

Llama 3.1 Community License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-4.1 was released on 2025-11-17, while Llama 3.1 405B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.

Grok-4.1 is 16 months newer than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.

Grok-4.1

Nov 17, 2025

8 months ago

1.3yr newer
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct

Jul 23, 2024

2.0 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Grok-4.1 is available from xAI. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Fireworks, Bedrock, Together, Hyperbolic, Google, Replicate.

Grok-4.1

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Llama 3.1 405B Instruct

lambda logo
Lambda
Input Price:Input: $0.89/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.89/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $1.79/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.79/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.00/1M
bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.00/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $3.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.50/1M
hyperbolic logo
Hyperbolic
Input Price:Input: $4.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.00/1M
google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $5.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $16.00/1M
replicate logo
Replicate
Input Price:Input: $9.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $9.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

xAI
Larger context window (256,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Meta
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok-4.1 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok-4.1
✓ Preferred
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok-4.1
Meta
Llama 3.1 405B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-4.1 vs Llama 3.1 405B Instruct.

Which is better, Grok-4.1 or Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?

Grok-4.1 (xAI) and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct (Meta) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Grok-4.1 compare to Llama 3.1 405B Instruct in benchmarks?

Grok-4.1 scores FActScore: 97.0%, Creative Writing v3: 85.4%, EQ-Bench: 79.3%, LMArena Text Leaderboard: 73.3%. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct scores ARC-C: 96.9%, GSM8k: 96.8%, API-Bank: 92.0%, Multilingual MGSM (CoT): 91.6%, HumanEval: 89.0%.

Is Grok-4.1 cheaper than Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?

Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is 3.4x cheaper for input tokens. Grok-4.1 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via xai. Llama 3.1 405B Instruct costs $0.89/M input and $0.89/M output via lambda.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-4.1 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?

Grok-4.1 supports 256K tokens and Llama 3.1 405B 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-4.1 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (256K vs 128K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.89/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Llama 3.1 Community License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok-4.1 and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct?

Grok-4.1 is developed by xAI and Llama 3.1 405B Instruct is developed by Meta.

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