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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct vs Gemma 3n E2B IT

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct comes out ahead, 25 to 21 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Meta

    Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct

    Released Jul 23, 2024

    25/100
    • ECI116.4
    • Price$0.06 / $0.08
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct

  2. Google

    Gemma 3n E2B IT

    Released Jun 26, 2025

    21/100
    • ECI—
    • Price—
    • Context33K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 3n E2B IT

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct is our pick

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 25/100 against Gemma 3n E2B IT (21). It leads on context window. Gemma 3n E2B IT wins on inputs & features. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceLlama-3.1-8B-InstructLlama-3.1-8B-Instruct $0.065 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · Gemma 3n E2B IT unpriced
  • Longest contextLlama-3.1-8B-InstructLlama-3.1-8B-Instruct 128,000 · Gemma 3n E2B IT 32,768 tokens
  • Widest inputsGemma 3n E2B ITLlama-3.1-8B-Instruct: Text · Gemma 3n E2B IT: Text, Images, Audio
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightLlama-3.1-8B-InstructGemma 3n E2B IT
Inputs & features60%2535
Context window40%240
Overall100%25/10021/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct vs Gemma 3n E2B IT specifications side by side
SpecificationLlama-3.1-8B-InstructMetaGemma 3n E2B ITGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)116.4—
ECI rank#162 of 165—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions27.0%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics1.7%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.06—
Output$0.08—
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.065—
Long-context rateSame rate—
Price sourceMedian of 17 providers—
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Max output4,096 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoYes
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesNo
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpenGemma Terms of Use
API model ID——
API providers18—
ReleasedJul 23, 2024Jun 26, 2025
Knowledge cutoffDec 2023Jun 2024
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct$0.76
  • Gemma 3n E2B IT—
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct or Gemma 3n E2B IT?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 25/100 against Gemma 3n E2B IT (21). It leads on context window. Gemma 3n E2B IT wins on inputs & features. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct or Gemma 3n E2B IT?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct is cheaper at $0.06 input / $0.08 output per million tokens (median across 17 API providers). . At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.065 per million tokens for Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct versus . Gemma 3n E2B IT has no published per-token price.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct has an ECI of 116.4 and Gemma 3n E2B IT has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct and Gemma 3n E2B IT yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Gemma 3n E2B IT does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct has the largest context window at 128,000 tokens, against 32,768 for Gemma 3n E2B IT. Maximum output per response: Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct up to 4,096, Gemma 3n E2B IT up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct accepts text; Gemma 3n E2B IT accepts text, images and audio. Gemma 3n E2B IT handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (Gemma Terms of Use), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Gemma 3n E2B IT is the newest, released Jun 26, 2025. Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct came out Jul 23, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct Dec 2023, Gemma 3n E2B IT Jun 2024.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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