Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is $0.02 cheaper per 1M input tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Llama 3 8B Lunaris
Pick Llama 3.1 8B Instruct when budget and context both matter.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Llama 3.1 8B Instruct when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is estimated at $0.04 vs $0.07 for Llama 3 8B Lunaris, saving $0.02 (30.8% lower).
Cost-first pickLlama 3.1 8B Instruct
Context-first pickLlama 3.1 8B Instruct
Sample savings$0.0230.8%
10x traffic gap$0.2
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.2. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | Llama 3 8B Lunaris |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | $0.12 | $0.23 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | $0.07 | $0.09 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | $0.27 | $0.29 |
Both models report the same output price at $0.05 per 1M tokens.
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has 122.88K more context (16x larger).
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is $0.02 cheaper on the standard workload (30.8% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has the lower input price; both models tie on output price; Llama 3.1 8B Instruct offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.04 for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and $0.07 for Llama 3 8B Lunaris.
Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.
Choose Llama 3 8B Lunaris when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is estimated at $0.04 vs $0.07 for Llama 3 8B Lunaris, saving $0.02 (30.8% lower).
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is $0.02 cheaper on the standard workload (30.8% lower).
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is $0.02 cheaper per 1M input tokens (50% lower; 2x difference).
- Both models report the same output price at $0.05 per 1M tokens.
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has 122.88K more context (16x larger).
| Feature | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (Meta) | Llama 3 8B Lunaris (Sao10K) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.02 | $0.04 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.05 | $0.05 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.04 | $0.07 |
| Context Window | 131.07K | 8.19K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #40 | #115 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is estimated at $0.04 vs $0.07 for Llama 3 8B Lunaris, saving $0.02 (30.8% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Tie | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Llama 3.3 70B Instruct (free) can replace Llama 3.1 8B Instruct when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Llama 3.2 3B Instruct (free) can replace Llama 3.1 8B Instruct when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- Lyria 3 Clip Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- Lyria 3 Pro Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
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