Llama 3.1 405B vs Pixtral Large

Compare Llama 3.1 405B and Pixtral Large: 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 Pixtral Large
CategoryOpen SourceVision
Parameters405B124B
Context Window128K128K
Input Price$0.08/1M tokens$0.06/1M tokens
Output Price$0.14/1M tokens$0.10/1M tokens
Latency~600ms~450ms

Choose Llama 3.1 405B when:

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

Largest open model, Highest open-source quality

Choose Pixtral Large when:

  • ✓ Image analysis
  • ✓ Document understanding
  • ✓ Chart reading
Key Strengths:

Strong vision, Good reasoning, Multilingual

Verdict: Llama 3.1 405B vs Pixtral Large

For cost efficiency, Pixtral Large wins at $0.06/1M input tokens. For speed, Pixtral Large is faster at ~450ms. Llama 3.1 405B excels at Premium tasks while Pixtral Large is better for Image analysis. 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. Pixtral Large costs $0.06 input and $0.10 output. Pixtral Large is 1.3x 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. Pixtral Large offers 128K context at ~450ms. Both have identical context windows.

Best For

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source) is optimized for: Premium tasks, Research, Fine-tuning base. Pixtral Large (Vision) works best for: Image analysis, Document understanding, Chart reading.

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 Pixtral Large
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="pixtral-large",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Llama 3.1 405B or Pixtral Large?

Llama 3.1 405B (Open Source, 405B) offers Largest open model. Pixtral Large (Vision, 124B) offers Strong vision. Choose Llama 3.1 405B for Premium tasks or Pixtral Large for Image analysis.

How much does Llama 3.1 405B cost vs Pixtral Large?

Llama 3.1 405B: $0.08/1M input, $0.14/1M output. Pixtral Large: $0.06/1M input, $0.10/1M 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 Pixtral Large 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.