API cost decision in 10 seconds

R1 vs Llama Guard 4 12B

Pick Llama Guard 4 12B when budget is the priority.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-31T01:07:53Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Llama Guard 4 12B when budget is the priority.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama Guard 4 12B is estimated at $0.27 vs $1.95 for R1, saving $1.68 (86.2% lower).

Cost-first pickLlama Guard 4 12B

Context-first pickBoth models

Sample savings$1.6886.2%

10x traffic gap$16.8

The reported context window is tied, so cost and provider fit carry more weight. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $16.8. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Llama Guard 4 12B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	R1	Llama Guard 4 12B
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Llama Guard 4 12B	$4.75	$0.99
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Llama Guard 4 12B	$3.2	$0.36
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Llama Guard 4 12B	$13.2	$1.08

Cheaper input Llama Guard 4 12B $0.7 vs $0.18 / 1M

Llama Guard 4 12B is $0.52 cheaper per 1M input tokens (74.3% lower; 3.89x difference).

Cheaper output Llama Guard 4 12B $2.5 vs $0.18 / 1M

Llama Guard 4 12B is $2.32 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92.8% lower; 13.9x difference).

Larger context Tie 163.84K vs 163.84K

Both models report the same context window at 163.84K tokens.

Sample workload Llama Guard 4 12B $1.95 vs $0.27

Llama Guard 4 12B is $1.68 cheaper on the standard workload (86.2% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

R1 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Llama Guard 4 12B Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Llama Guard 4 12B has the lower input price; Llama Guard 4 12B has the lower output price; both models report the same context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Llama Guard 4 12B is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.95 for R1 and $0.27 for Llama Guard 4 12B.

Best Fit

Choose R1 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Choose Llama Guard 4 12B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama Guard 4 12B is estimated at $0.27 vs $1.95 for R1, saving $1.68 (86.2% lower).
Llama Guard 4 12B is $1.68 cheaper on the standard workload (86.2% lower).
Llama Guard 4 12B is $0.52 cheaper per 1M input tokens (74.3% lower; 3.89x difference).
Llama Guard 4 12B is $2.32 cheaper per 1M output tokens (92.8% lower; 13.9x difference).
Both models report the same context window at 163.84K tokens.

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	R1 (DeepSeek)	Llama Guard 4 12B (Meta)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.7	$0.18
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$2.5	$0.18
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$1.95	$0.27
Context Window	163.84K	163.84K
Release Date	2025-01-20	2025-04-30
Popularity	#133	#146

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Llama Guard 4 12B	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama Guard 4 12B is estimated at $0.27 vs $1.95 for R1, saving $1.68 (86.2% lower).
High-volume input processing	Llama Guard 4 12B	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Llama Guard 4 12B	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Tie	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) can replace R1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
DeepSeek V4 Flash can replace R1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.2.
R1 Distill Qwen 32B can replace R1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.43.
DeepSeek V3.2 can replace R1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.44.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
MiMo-V2.5 offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

Hy3 preview · Tencent · #1
MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #3
Owl Alpha · OpenRouter · #4

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

DeepSeek catalog

Review all tracked DeepSeek models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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Meta catalog

Check other Meta models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

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