Model Comparison
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct vs Llama 4 ScoutWhich is better in 2026?
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Llama 4 Scout is 1.5x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct vs Llama 4 Scout — which is better?
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct (by Meta) and Llama 4 Scout (by Meta) 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 3.3 70B Instruct outperforms in 3 benchmarks (MATH, MGSM, MMLU), while Llama 4 Scout is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro). Llama 3.3 70B Instruct has a slight edge in benchmark performance.
On price, Llama 4 Scout is roughly 1.5x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Llama 4 Scout also accepts a larger context window (10,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Llama 3.3 70B Instruct if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 5 shared benchmarks
Choose Llama 4 Scout if…
- cost matters — it's about 1.5x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 10,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct outperforms in 3 benchmarks (MATH, MGSM, MMLU), while Llama 4 Scout is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro).
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct has a slight edge in benchmark performance.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct ($0.20/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than Llama 4 Scout ($0.08/1M tokens).
For output processing, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct ($0.20/1M tokens) is 1.5x cheaper than Llama 4 Scout ($0.30/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is more expensive than Llama 4 Scout.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Llama 4 Scout has 39.0B more parameters than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct, making it 55.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Llama 4 Scout accepts 10,000,000 input tokens compared to Llama 3.3 70B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Llama 4 Scout can generate longer responses up to 10,000,000 tokens, while Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Llama 4 Scout supports multimodal inputs, whereas Llama 3.3 70B Instruct does not.
Llama 4 Scout can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
Llama 4 Scout
License
Usage and distribution terms
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is licensed under Llama 3.3 Community License Agreement, while Llama 4 Scout uses Llama 4 Community License Agreement.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Llama 3.3 Community License Agreement
Open weights
Llama 4 Community License Agreement
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct was released on 2024-12-06, while Llama 4 Scout was released on 2025-04-05.
Llama 4 Scout is 4 months newer than Llama 3.3 70B Instruct.
Dec 6, 2024
1.6 years ago
Apr 5, 2025
1.3 years ago
4mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct is available from Lambda, DeepInfra, Hyperbolic, Groq, Sambanova, Cerebras, Bedrock, Together, Fireworks. Llama 4 Scout is available from DeepInfra, Lambda, Novita, Groq, Fireworks, Together.
Llama 3.3 70B Instruct
Llama 4 Scout
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Llama 3.3 70B Instruct and Llama 4 Scout side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Llama 3.3 70B Instruct vs Llama 4 Scout.