Model Comparison

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 16.3x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking — which is better?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (by Meta) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) 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 8B Instruct outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, IFEval, MMLU-Pro). Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is roughly 16.3x 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.

Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 16.3x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window

Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, IFEval, MMLU-Pro).

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Jul 28 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 5.0x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.03/1M tokens) is 50.0x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking ($1.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking 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 Jul 28 2026 • llm-stats.com
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.03
Output tokens$0.03
Best providerLambda
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$1.50
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

72.0B diff

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking has 72.0B more parameters than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, making it 900.0% larger.

Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
8.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
80.0Bparameters
8.0B
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
80.0B
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking's 65,536 tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is limited to 65,536 tokens.

Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
Input65,536 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Tue Jul 28 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is licensed under Llama 3.1 Community License, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking uses Apache 2.0.

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

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

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-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking was released on 2025-09-10.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is 14 months newer than Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Jul 23, 2024

2.0 years ago

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

Sep 10, 2025

10 months ago

1.1yr newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-12-31, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking'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-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking's cutoff date.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct

Dec 2023

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

—

Provider Availability

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Hyperbolic, Together, Fireworks, Bedrock. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is available from Novita.

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

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M
* 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)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Higher GPQA score (77.2% vs 30.4%)
Higher IFEval score (88.9% vs 80.4%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (82.7% vs 48.3%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
✓ Preferred
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Meta
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

FAQ

Common questions about Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking.

Which is better, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is made by Meta and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking 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%. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking scores MMLU-Redux: 92.5%, IFEval: 88.9%, AIME 2025: 87.8%, WritingBench: 84.6%, MMLU-Pro: 82.7%.

Is Llama 3.1 8B Instruct cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is 5.0x cheaper for input tokens. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs $0.03/M input and $0.03/M output via lambda. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking costs $0.15/M input and $1.50/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct supports 131K tokens and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking supports 66K 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Key differences include context window (131K vs 66K), input pricing ($0.03 vs $0.15/M), licensing (Llama 3.1 Community License vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is developed by Meta and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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