Llama 3.1 405B vs Codestral

Compare Llama 3.1 405B and Codestral: 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 Mistral models What is an LLM API? Python Quickstart What is inference?
Feature Llama 3.1 405B Codestral
CategoryOpen SourceCode
Parameters405B22B
Context Window128K256K
Input Price$0.08/1M tokens$0.03/1M tokens
Output Price$0.14/1M tokens$0.05/1M tokens
Latency~600ms~200ms

Choose Llama 3.1 405B when:

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

Largest open model, Highest open-source quality

Choose Codestral when:

  • ✓ API integration code
  • ✓ SDK generation
  • ✓ Code review
Key Strengths:

256K context for code, Strong code generation, Good APIs

Verdict: Llama 3.1 405B vs Codestral

For cost efficiency, Codestral wins at $0.03/1M input tokens. For speed, Codestral is faster at ~200ms. Llama 3.1 405B excels at Premium tasks while Codestral is better for API integration code. 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. Codestral costs $0.03 input and $0.05 output. Codestral is 2.7x 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. Codestral offers 256K context at ~200ms. Codestral has the larger context window.

Best For

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source) is optimized for: Premium tasks, Research, Fine-tuning base. Codestral (Code) works best for: API integration code, SDK generation, Code review.

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 Codestral
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="codestral",
    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 Codestral?

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source, 405B) offers Largest open model. Codestral (Code, 22B) offers 256K context for code. Choose Llama 3.1 405B for Premium tasks or Codestral for API integration code.

How much does Llama 3.1 405B cost vs Codestral?

Llama 3.1 405B: $0.08/1M input, $0.14/1M output. Codestral: $0.03/1M input, $0.05/1M 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 Codestral by changing the model parameter. No code changes needed.

Related Comparisons

Llama 3.1 405B vs Vedika Code Llama 3.1 405B vs Gemma 3 27B Llama 3.1 405B vs Llama 4 Scout Llama 3.1 405B vs Llama 4 Maverick Llama 3.1 405B vs Llama 3.3 70B Llama 3.1 405B vs Llama 3.1 70B Turbo

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