Model Comparison

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 2.4x cheaper per token.

Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct outperforms in 4 benchmarks (ARC-C, IFEval, MMLU, Nexus), while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Apr 29 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens) is 3.0x more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct ($0.01/1M tokens).

For output processing, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens) is 1.5x more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct ($0.02/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is more expensive than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed Apr 29 2026 • llm-stats.com
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.03
Output tokens$0.03
Best providerLambda
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Input tokens$0.01
Output tokens$0.02
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

4.8B diff

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has 4.8B more parameters than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct, making it 149.2% larger.

Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
8.0Bparameters
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
3.2Bparameters
8.0B
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
3.2B
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Llama 3.2 3B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Wed Apr 29 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is licensed under Llama 3.1 Community License, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct uses Llama 3.2 Community License.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Llama 3.1 Community License

Open weights

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Llama 3.2 Community License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct was released on 2024-09-25.

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 2 months newer than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Jul 23, 2024

1.8 years ago

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Sep 25, 2024

1.6 years ago

2mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while Llama 3.2 3B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Llama 3.1 8B Instruct's training data extends to 2023-12-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Llama 3.2 3B Instruct's cutoff date.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Dec 2023

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

—

Provider Availability

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Hyperbolic, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is available from DeepInfra.

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

Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.01/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.02/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Meta
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Higher ARC-C score (83.4% vs 78.6%)
Higher IFEval score (80.4% vs 77.4%)
Higher MMLU score (69.4% vs 63.4%)
Higher Nexus score (38.5% vs 34.3%)
Meta
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Higher GPQA score (32.8% vs 30.4%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Meta
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is made by Meta and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is made by Meta. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.
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%. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct scores NIH/Multi-needle: 84.7%, ARC-C: 78.6%, GSM8k: 77.7%, IFEval: 77.4%, HellaSwag: 69.8%.
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 3.0x cheaper for input tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs $0.03/M input and $0.03/M output via lambda. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct costs $0.01/M input and $0.02/M output via deepinfra.
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct supports 131K tokens and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.
Key differences include context window (131K vs 128K), input pricing ($0.03 vs $0.01/M), licensing (Llama 3.1 Community License vs Llama 3.2 Community License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.