Model Comparison
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct vs Mistral Large 2Which is better in 2026?
Mistral Large 2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.1 70B Instruct is 15.0x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Llama 3.1 70B Instruct vs Mistral Large 2 — which is better?
Llama 3.1 70B Instruct (by Meta) and Mistral Large 2 (by Mistral AI) 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.
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.
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.
Choose Llama 3.1 70B Instruct if…
- cost matters — it's about 15.0x cheaper per token
Choose Mistral Large 2 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2024
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
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.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
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
2.0 years ago
Jul 24, 2024
2.0 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
Key Takeaways
Mistral Large 2
View detailsMistral AI
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
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.
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FAQ
Common questions about Llama 3.1 70B Instruct vs Mistral Large 2.