Model Comparison

Jamba 1.5 Mini vs Llama 3.1 8B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Jamba 1.5 Mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 8.3x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Jamba 1.5 Mini vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct — which is better?

Jamba 1.5 Mini (by AI21 Labs) 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.

Jamba 1.5 Mini outperforms in 3 benchmarks (ARC-C, GPQA, MMLU), while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (MMLU-Pro). Jamba 1.5 Mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

On price, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is roughly 8.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Jamba 1.5 Mini also accepts a larger context window (256,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Jamba 1.5 Mini if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 4 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 256,144 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2024

Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 8.3x cheaper per token

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

4 benchmarks

Jamba 1.5 Mini outperforms in 3 benchmarks (ARC-C, GPQA, MMLU), while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (MMLU-Pro).

Jamba 1.5 Mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Jamba 1.5 Mini ($0.20/1M tokens) is 6.7x more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens).

For output processing, Jamba 1.5 Mini ($0.40/1M tokens) is 13.3x more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Jamba 1.5 Mini is more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com
AI21 Labs
Jamba 1.5 Mini
Input tokens$0.20
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerAWS Bedrock
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.03
Output tokens$0.03
Best providerLambda
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

44.0B diff

Jamba 1.5 Mini has 44.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, making it 550.0% larger.

AI21 Labs
Jamba 1.5 Mini
52.0Bparameters
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
8.0Bparameters
52.0B
Jamba 1.5 Mini
8.0B
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Jamba 1.5 Mini accepts 256,144 input tokens compared to Llama 3.1 8B Instruct's 131,072 tokens. Jamba 1.5 Mini can generate longer responses up to 256,144 tokens, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is limited to 131,072 tokens.

AI21 Labs
Jamba 1.5 Mini
Input256,144 tokens
Output256,144 tokens
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Jamba 1.5 Mini is licensed under Jamba Open Model 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.

Jamba 1.5 Mini

Jamba Open Model License

Open weights

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Llama 3.1 Community License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Jamba 1.5 Mini was released on 2024-08-22, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.

Jamba 1.5 Mini is 1 month newer than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.

Jamba 1.5 Mini

Aug 22, 2024

1.9 years ago

1mo newer
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Jul 23, 2024

2.0 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Jamba 1.5 Mini has a knowledge cutoff of 2024-03-05, while Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a cutoff of 2023-12-31.

Jamba 1.5 Mini has more recent training data (up to 2024-03-05), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (2023-12-31).

Jamba 1.5 Mini

Mar 2024

3 mo newer
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Dec 2023

Provider Availability

Jamba 1.5 Mini is available from Bedrock, Google. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Hyperbolic, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock.

Jamba 1.5 Mini

bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

lambda logo
Lambda
Input Price:Input: $0.03/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.03/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.05/1M
groq logo
Groq
Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.08/1M
sambanova logo
Sambanova
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M
cerebras logo
Cerebras
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
hyperbolic logo
Hyperbolic
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M
bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.22/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.22/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

AI21 Labs
Larger context window (256,144 tokens)
Higher ARC-C score (85.7% vs 83.4%)
Higher GPQA score (32.3% vs 30.4%)
Higher MMLU score (69.7% vs 69.4%)
Meta
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher MMLU-Pro score (48.3% vs 42.5%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Jamba 1.5 Mini and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Jamba 1.5 Mini
✓ Preferred
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
AI21 Labs
Jamba 1.5 Mini
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Jamba 1.5 Mini vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.

Which is better, Jamba 1.5 Mini or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Jamba 1.5 Mini shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Jamba 1.5 Mini is made by AI21 Labs and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is made by Meta. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Jamba 1.5 Mini compare to Llama 3.1 8B Instruct in benchmarks?

Jamba 1.5 Mini scores ARC-C: 85.7%, GSM8k: 75.8%, MMLU: 69.7%, TruthfulQA: 54.1%, Arena Hard: 46.1%. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct scores GSM-8K (CoT): 84.5%, ARC-C: 83.4%, API-Bank: 82.6%, IFEval: 80.4%, BFCL: 76.1%.

Is Jamba 1.5 Mini cheaper than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 6.7x cheaper for input tokens. Jamba 1.5 Mini costs $0.20/M input and $0.40/M output via bedrock. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs $0.03/M input and $0.03/M output via lambda.

What are the context window sizes for Jamba 1.5 Mini and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Jamba 1.5 Mini supports 256K tokens and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct supports 131K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Jamba 1.5 Mini and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (256K vs 131K), input pricing ($0.20 vs $0.03/M), licensing (Jamba Open Model License vs Llama 3.1 Community License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Jamba 1.5 Mini and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?

Jamba 1.5 Mini is developed by AI21 Labs and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is developed by Meta.

Related comparisons