Llama 3.1 405B vs Llama 3.2 1B

Compare Llama 3.1 405B and Llama 3.2 1B: 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 Llama 3.2 1B
CategoryOpen SourceCompact
Parameters405B1B
Context Window128K128K
Input Price$0.08/1M tokens$0.004/1M tokens
Output Price$0.14/1M tokens$0.008/1M tokens
Latency~600ms~25ms

Choose Llama 3.1 405B when:

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

Largest open model, Highest open-source quality

Choose Llama 3.2 1B when:

  • ✓ Intent detection
  • ✓ Routing
  • ✓ Edge classification
Key Strengths:

Smallest footprint, Fastest inference, Classification

Verdict: Llama 3.1 405B vs Llama 3.2 1B

For cost efficiency, Llama 3.2 1B wins at $0.004/1M input tokens. For speed, Llama 3.2 1B is faster at ~25ms. Llama 3.1 405B excels at Premium tasks while Llama 3.2 1B is better for Intent detection. 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. Llama 3.2 1B costs $0.004 input and $0.008 output. Llama 3.2 1B is 20.0x 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. Llama 3.2 1B offers 128K context at ~25ms. Both have identical context windows.

Best For

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source) is optimized for: Premium tasks, Research, Fine-tuning base. Llama 3.2 1B (Compact) works best for: Intent detection, Routing, Edge classification.

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 Llama 3.2 1B
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="llama-3-2-1b",
    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 Llama 3.2 1B?

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source, 405B) offers Largest open model. Llama 3.2 1B (Compact, 1B) offers Smallest footprint. Choose Llama 3.1 405B for Premium tasks or Llama 3.2 1B for Intent detection.

How much does Llama 3.1 405B cost vs Llama 3.2 1B?

Llama 3.1 405B: $0.08/1M input, $0.14/1M output. Llama 3.2 1B: $0.004/1M input, $0.008/1M 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 Llama 3.2 1B 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.