Model Comparison

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 3.3x cheaper per token.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct outperforms in 3 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU, MMLU-Pro), while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is better at 1 benchmark (ARC-C).

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Tue May 12 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, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens) is 3.3x cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens) is 3.3x cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Phi-3.5-mini-instruct 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

Tue May 12 2026 • llm-stats.com

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Input tokens$0.03

Output tokens$0.03

Best providerLambda

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Input tokens$0.10

Output tokens$0.10

Best providerAzure

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Model Size

Parameter count comparison

4.2B diff

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has 4.2B more parameters than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct, making it 110.5% larger.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

8.0Bparameters

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

3.8Bparameters

8.0B

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

3.8B

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's 128,000 tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Input131,072 tokens

Output131,072 tokens

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Input128,000 tokens

Output128,000 tokens

Tue May 12 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is licensed under Llama 3.1 Community License, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct uses MIT.

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

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 1 month newer than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Jul 23, 2024

1.8 years ago

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Aug 23, 2024

1.7 years ago

1mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while Phi-3.5-mini-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 Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's cutoff date.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Dec 2023

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

—

Provider Availability

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Hyperbolic, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is available from Azure.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Lambda

Input Price:Input: $0.03/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.03/1M

Deepinfra

Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.05/1M

Groq

Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.08/1M

Sambanova

Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M

Cerebras

Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M

Hyperbolic

Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M

Together

Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M

Fireworks

Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.20/1M

AWS Bedrock

Input Price:Input: $0.22/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.22/1M

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

Azure

Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M

* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

View details

Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

View details

Microsoft

Higher ARC-C score (84.6% vs 83.4%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature	Llama 3.1 8B Instruct	Phi-3.5-mini-instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.

Which is better, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is made by Meta and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Llama 3.1 8B Instruct compare to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct in benchmarks?

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%. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct scores GSM8k: 86.2%, ARC-C: 84.6%, RULER: 84.1%, PIQA: 81.0%, OpenBookQA: 79.2%.

Is Llama 3.1 8B Instruct cheaper than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 3.3x cheaper for input tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs $0.03/M input and $0.03/M output via lambda. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via azure.

What are the context window sizes for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct supports 131K tokens and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Key differences include context window (131K vs 128K), input pricing ($0.03 vs $0.10/M), licensing (Llama 3.1 Community License vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is developed by Meta and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is developed by Microsoft.