Llama 3.1 70B Instruct vs Mistral Large 2
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct and Mistral Large 2 are closely matched at 7.6 and 7.4 on the LLM Stats Score. Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is 15.0x cheaper per token.
Meta · Mistral AI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct and Mistral Large 2 are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 7.6 and 7.4.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Mistral Large 2 wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is roughly 15.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
- cost matters — it's about 15.0x cheaper per token
Choose Mistral Large 2
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2024
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
18 reported for Llama 3.1 70B Instruct · 5 for Mistral Large 2
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Mistral Large 2 is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU).
Mistral Large 2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct ($0.20/1M tokens) is 10.0x cheaper than Mistral Large 2 ($2.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, Llama 3.1 70B Instruct ($0.20/1M tokens) is 30.0x cheaper than Mistral Large 2 ($6.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Mistral Large 2 is more expensive than Llama 3.1 70B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Mistral Large 2 has 53.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 70B Instruct, making it 75.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 128,000 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is licensed under Llama 3.1 Community License, while Mistral Large 2 uses Mistral Research License.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Llama 3.1 Community License
Open weights
Mistral Research License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23, while Mistral Large 2 was released on 2024-07-24.
Mistral Large 2 is 0 month newer than Llama 3.1 70B Instruct.
Jul 23, 2024
2.1 years ago
Jul 24, 2024
2.1 years ago
1d newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Hyperbolic, Groq, Cerebras, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock, Sambanova. Mistral Large 2 is available from Google, Mistral AI.
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct
Mistral Large 2
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Llama 3.1 70B Instruct and Mistral Large 2 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Llama 3.1 70B Instruct vs Mistral Large 2.