Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct are closely matched at -3.1 and -6.6 on the LLM Stats Score. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is 1.8x cheaper per token.
Meta · Meta · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at -3.1 and -6.6.
In the 5 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct wins 4; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is roughly 1.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (131,072 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 Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 4 of 5 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
Choose Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
- cost matters — it's about 1.8x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 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 8B Instruct · 15 for Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
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.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.02/1M tokens) is 2.0x 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
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has 4.8B more parameters than Llama 3.2 3B Instruct, making it 149.2% larger.
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.
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 Community License
Open weights
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.
Jul 23, 2024
2.3 years ago
Sep 25, 2024
2.1 years ago
2mo newerKnowledge 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.
Dec 2023
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Provider Availability
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Lambda, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Hyperbolic, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock. Llama 3.2 3B Instruct is available from DeepInfra.
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Llama 3.2 3B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Llama 3.2 3B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3.2 3B Instruct.