Llama 3.1 405B vs AssemblyAI Universal 2

Compare Llama 3.1 405B and AssemblyAI Universal 2: pricing, performance, context window, latency, and best use cases. Side-by-side comparison on XALEN.

Updated 2026-05-21 · By Abhishek Raj · Our methodology

All Meta models All AssemblyAI models What is an LLM API? Python Quickstart What is inference?
Feature Llama 3.1 405B AssemblyAI Universal 2
CategoryOpen SourceSpeech
Parameters405B~2B
Context Window128KLong-form
Input Price$0.08/1M tokens$0.006/min/1M tokens
Output Price$0.14/1M tokensN/A/1M tokens
Latency~600ms~150ms

Choose Llama 3.1 405B when:

  • ✓ Premium tasks
  • ✓ Research
  • ✓ Fine-tuning base
Key Strengths:

Largest open model, Highest open-source quality

Choose AssemblyAI Universal 2 when:

  • ✓ Meeting transcription
  • ✓ Podcast processing
  • ✓ Content indexing
Key Strengths:

High accuracy, Speaker diarization, Summarization

Verdict: Llama 3.1 405B vs AssemblyAI Universal 2

For cost efficiency, AssemblyAI Universal 2 wins at $0.006/min/1M input tokens. For speed, AssemblyAI Universal 2 is faster at ~150ms. Llama 3.1 405B excels at Premium tasks while AssemblyAI Universal 2 is better for Meeting transcription. Both are available on XALEN through a single API — try them in the Playground to see which fits your workload.

Detailed Analysis

Pricing Comparison

Llama 3.1 405B costs $0.08/1M input tokens and $0.14/1M output tokens. AssemblyAI Universal 2 costs $0.006/min input and N/A output. AssemblyAI Universal 2 is 13.3x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

Llama 3.1 405B has a 128K context window with ~600ms latency. AssemblyAI Universal 2 offers Long-form context at ~150ms. Both have identical context windows.

Best For

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source) is optimized for: Premium tasks, Research, Fine-tuning base. AssemblyAI Universal 2 (Speech) works best for: Meeting transcription, Podcast processing, Content indexing.

Try Both on XALEN

Both models are available through XALEN's OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between them by changing the model parameter:

from xalen import XALEN

client = XALEN(api_key="xln_test_YOUR_KEY")

# Use Llama 3.1 405B
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="llama-3-1-405b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

# Use AssemblyAI Universal 2
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="assembly-ai-universal-2",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

Start Building with XALEN

200+ AI models. One API. Pay-as-you-go.

Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Llama 3.1 405B or AssemblyAI Universal 2?

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source, 405B) offers Largest open model. AssemblyAI Universal 2 (Speech, ~2B) offers High accuracy. Choose Llama 3.1 405B for Premium tasks or AssemblyAI Universal 2 for Meeting transcription.

How much does Llama 3.1 405B cost vs AssemblyAI Universal 2?

Llama 3.1 405B: $0.08/1M input, $0.14/1M output. AssemblyAI Universal 2: $0.006/min/1M input, N/A/1M output. Both available on XALEN with batch processing at 50% discount.

Can I use both models on XALEN?

Yes. XALEN provides 200+ models through a single OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between Llama 3.1 405B and AssemblyAI Universal 2 by changing the model parameter. No code changes needed.

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Last updated: 2026-05-21. Pricing and specifications may change. Check pricing page for latest rates.