Grok-4.1 Thinking vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
Grok-4.1 Thinking and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct are closely matched at 16.0 and 13.8 on the LLM Stats Score. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is 48.0x cheaper per token.
xAI · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Grok-4.1 Thinking and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 16.0 and 13.8.
On price, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is roughly 48.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Grok-4.1 Thinking also accepts a larger context window (256,000 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 Grok-4.1 Thinking
- 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 3.3 70B Instruct
- cost matters — it's about 48.0x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Individual benchmarks
11 reported for Grok-4.1 Thinking · 9 for Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
Grok-4.1 Thinking and Llama 3.3 70B Instructdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Grok-4.1 Thinking ($3.00/1M tokens) is 30.0x more expensive than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Grok-4.1 Thinking ($15.00/1M tokens) is 75.0x more expensive than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct ($0.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Grok-4.1 Thinking is more expensive than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Grok-4.1 Thinking accepts 256,000 input tokens compared to Llama 3.3 70B Instruct's 131,072 tokens. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Grok-4.1 Thinking is limited to 8,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Grok-4.1 Thinking supports multimodal inputs, whereas Llama 3.3 70B Instruct does not.
Grok-4.1 Thinking can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Grok-4.1 Thinking
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
Grok-4.1 Thinking is licensed under a proprietary license, while Llama 3.3 70B Instruct uses Llama 3.3 Community License Agreement.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Llama 3.3 Community License Agreement
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Grok-4.1 Thinking was released on 2025-11-17, while Llama 3.3 70B Instruct was released on 2024-12-06.
Grok-4.1 Thinking is 12 months newer than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct.
Nov 17, 2025
10 months ago
11mo newerDec 6, 2024
1.8 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Grok-4.1 Thinking is available from xAI. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Lambda, Hyperbolic, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Bedrock, Together, Fireworks.
Grok-4.1 Thinking
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Grok-4.1 Thinking and Llama 3.3 70B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Grok-4.1 Thinking vs Llama 3.3 70B Instruct.