Llama 3.1 405B vs FLUX.1 Schnell

Compare Llama 3.1 405B and FLUX.1 Schnell: pricing, performance, context window, latency, and best use cases. Side-by-side comparison on XALEN.

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

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Feature Llama 3.1 405B FLUX.1 Schnell
CategoryOpen SourceImage
Parameters405B12B
Context Window128KN/A
Input Price$0.08/1M tokens$0.003/image/1M tokens
Output Price$0.14/1M tokensN/A/1M tokens
Latency~600ms~2s

Choose Llama 3.1 405B when:

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

Largest open model, Highest open-source quality

Choose FLUX.1 Schnell when:

  • ✓ Temple social media
  • ✓ Devotional artwork
  • ✓ Marketing imagery
Key Strengths:

Fast generation, High quality, Good spiritual imagery

Verdict: Llama 3.1 405B vs FLUX.1 Schnell

For cost efficiency, FLUX.1 Schnell wins at $0.003/image/1M input tokens. For speed, FLUX.1 Schnell is faster at ~2s. Llama 3.1 405B excels at Premium tasks while FLUX.1 Schnell is better for Temple social media. 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. FLUX.1 Schnell costs $0.003/image input and N/A output. FLUX.1 Schnell is 26.7x 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. FLUX.1 Schnell offers N/A context at ~2s. Llama 3.1 405B has the larger context window.

Best For

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source) is optimized for: Premium tasks, Research, Fine-tuning base. FLUX.1 Schnell (Image) works best for: Temple social media, Devotional artwork, Marketing imagery.

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 FLUX.1 Schnell
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="flux-1-schnell",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

Start Building with XALEN

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Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Llama 3.1 405B or FLUX.1 Schnell?

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source, 405B) offers Largest open model. FLUX.1 Schnell (Image, 12B) offers Fast generation. Choose Llama 3.1 405B for Premium tasks or FLUX.1 Schnell for Temple social media.

How much does Llama 3.1 405B cost vs FLUX.1 Schnell?

Llama 3.1 405B: $0.08/1M input, $0.14/1M output. FLUX.1 Schnell: $0.003/image/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 FLUX.1 Schnell 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.