Llama 3.1 8B Turbo vs Codestral

Compare Llama 3.1 8B Turbo 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 8B Turbo Codestral
CategoryCompactCode
Parameters8B22B
Context Window128K256K
Input Price$0.01/1M tokens$0.03/1M tokens
Output Price$0.02/1M tokens$0.05/1M tokens
Latency~60ms~200ms

Choose Llama 3.1 8B Turbo when:

  • ✓ Intent classification
  • ✓ Content filtering
  • ✓ Simple Q&A
Key Strengths:

Extremely fast, Very low cost, 128K context

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 8B Turbo vs Codestral

For cost efficiency, Llama 3.1 8B Turbo wins at $0.01/1M input tokens. For speed, Codestral is faster at ~200ms. Llama 3.1 8B Turbo excels at Intent classification 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 8B Turbo costs $0.01/1M input tokens and $0.02/1M output tokens. Codestral costs $0.03 input and $0.05 output. Llama 3.1 8B Turbo is 3.0x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

Llama 3.1 8B Turbo has a 128K context window with ~60ms latency. Codestral offers 256K context at ~200ms. Codestral has the larger context window.

Best For

Llama 3.1 8B Turbo (Compact) is optimized for: Intent classification, Content filtering, Simple Q&A. 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 8B Turbo
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="llama-3-1-8b-turbo",
    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 8B Turbo or Codestral?

Llama 3.1 8B Turbo (Compact, 8B) offers Extremely fast. Codestral (Code, 22B) offers 256K context for code. Choose Llama 3.1 8B Turbo for Intent classification or Codestral for API integration code.

How much does Llama 3.1 8B Turbo cost vs Codestral?

Llama 3.1 8B Turbo: $0.01/1M input, $0.02/1M 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 8B Turbo and Codestral 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.