Llama 4 Scout vs SD 3.5 Medium

Compare Llama 4 Scout and SD 3.5 Medium: 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 4 Scout SD 3.5 Medium
CategoryOpen SourceImage
Parameters109B (17B active)2.5B
Context Window512KN/A
Input Price$0.05/1M tokens$0.003/image/1M tokens
Output Price$0.08/1M tokensN/A/1M tokens
Latency~350ms~2s

Choose Llama 4 Scout when:

  • ✓ Classical text analysis
  • ✓ Long content
  • ✓ Multi-turn
Key Strengths:

512K context, MoE efficiency, Strong multilingual

Choose SD 3.5 Medium when:

  • ✓ General imagery
  • ✓ Batch generation
  • ✓ Prototyping
Key Strengths:

Good quality, Fast, Open weights

Verdict: Llama 4 Scout vs SD 3.5 Medium

For cost efficiency, SD 3.5 Medium wins at $0.003/image/1M input tokens. For speed, SD 3.5 Medium is faster at ~2s. Llama 4 Scout excels at Classical text analysis while SD 3.5 Medium is better for General imagery. 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 4 Scout costs $0.05/1M input tokens and $0.08/1M output tokens. SD 3.5 Medium costs $0.003/image input and N/A output. SD 3.5 Medium is 16.7x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

Llama 4 Scout has a 512K context window with ~350ms latency. SD 3.5 Medium offers N/A context at ~2s. Llama 4 Scout has the larger context window.

Best For

Llama 4 Scout (Open Source) is optimized for: Classical text analysis, Long content, Multi-turn. SD 3.5 Medium (Image) works best for: General imagery, Batch generation, Prototyping.

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 4 Scout
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="llama-4-scout",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

# Use SD 3.5 Medium
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="stable-diffusion-3-5-medium",
    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 4 Scout or SD 3.5 Medium?

Llama 4 Scout (Open Source, 109B (17B active)) offers 512K context. SD 3.5 Medium (Image, 2.5B) offers Good quality. Choose Llama 4 Scout for Classical text analysis or SD 3.5 Medium for General imagery.

How much does Llama 4 Scout cost vs SD 3.5 Medium?

Llama 4 Scout: $0.05/1M input, $0.08/1M output. SD 3.5 Medium: $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 4 Scout and SD 3.5 Medium 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.