Llama Guard 4 12B is $0.02 cheaper per 1M input tokens (10% lower; 1.11x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewStep 3.7 Flash vs Llama Guard 4 12B
Pick Llama Guard 4 12B for lower cost; pick Step 3.7 Flash only if the larger context window matters more.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Llama Guard 4 12B for lower cost; pick Step 3.7 Flash only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama Guard 4 12B is estimated at $0.27 vs $0.77 for Step 3.7 Flash, saving $0.5 (65.2% lower).
Cost-first pickLlama Guard 4 12B
Context-first pickStep 3.7 Flash
Sample savings$0.565.2%
10x traffic gap$5.05
Step 3.7 Flash has more context, but Llama Guard 4 12B saves $0.5 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $5.05. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Llama Guard 4 12B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Step 3.7 Flash | Llama Guard 4 12B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Llama Guard 4 12B | $1.57 | $0.99 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Llama Guard 4 12B | $1.35 | $0.36 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Llama Guard 4 12B | $5.95 | $1.08 |
Llama Guard 4 12B is $0.97 cheaper per 1M output tokens (84.3% lower; 6.39x difference).
Step 3.7 Flash has 92.16K more context (1.56x larger).
Llama Guard 4 12B is $0.5 cheaper on the standard workload (65.2% 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 Guard 4 12B has the lower input price; Llama Guard 4 12B has the lower output price; Step 3.7 Flash offers the larger 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 $0.77 for Step 3.7 Flash and $0.27 for Llama Guard 4 12B.
Choose Step 3.7 Flash when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Llama Guard 4 12B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama Guard 4 12B is estimated at $0.27 vs $0.77 for Step 3.7 Flash, saving $0.5 (65.2% lower).
- Llama Guard 4 12B is $0.5 cheaper on the standard workload (65.2% lower).
- Llama Guard 4 12B is $0.02 cheaper per 1M input tokens (10% lower; 1.11x difference).
- Llama Guard 4 12B is $0.97 cheaper per 1M output tokens (84.3% lower; 6.39x difference).
- Step 3.7 Flash has 92.16K more context (1.56x larger).
| Feature | NewStep 3.7 Flash (StepFun) | Llama Guard 4 12B (Meta) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.2 | $0.18 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.15 | $0.18 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.77 | $0.27 |
| Context Window | 256K | 163.84K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #37 | #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 $0.77 for Step 3.7 Flash, saving $0.5 (65.2% 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 | Step 3.7 Flash | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Step 3.5 Flash can replace Step 3.7 Flash when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.24.
- Llama 3.3 70B Instruct (free) can replace Llama Guard 4 12B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Llama 3.2 3B Instruct (free) can replace Llama Guard 4 12B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct can replace Llama Guard 4 12B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.04.
- 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.
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #1
- MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #2
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #3
- Owl Alpha · OpenRouter · #4
Cheaper alternatives
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