Model Comparison
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Qwen3 235B A22B
Qwen3 235B A22B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 3.3x cheaper per token.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct outperforms in 1 benchmarks (BFCL), while Qwen3 235B A22B is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU, MMLU-Pro).
Qwen3 235B A22B shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens) is 3.3x cheaper than Qwen3 235B A22B ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens) is 3.3x cheaper than Qwen3 235B A22B ($0.10/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3 235B A22B is more expensive than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3 235B A22B has 227.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, making it 2837.5% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Qwen3 235B A22B's 128,000 tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Qwen3 235B A22B 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 Qwen3 235B A22B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Llama 3.1 Community License
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23, while Qwen3 235B A22B was released on 2025-04-29.
Qwen3 235B A22B is 9 months newer than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.
Jul 23, 2024
1.7 years ago
Apr 29, 2025
11 months ago
9mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while Qwen3 235B A22B'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 Qwen3 235B A22B's cutoff date.
Dec 2023
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Provider Availability
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Hyperbolic, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock. Qwen3 235B A22B is available from Fireworks, DeepInfra, Novita, Together.
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Qwen3 235B A22B
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Qwen3 235B A22B
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Qwen3 235B A22B