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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct vs Pixtral 12B

Pixtral 12B comes out ahead, 64 to 56 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Meta

    Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct

    Released Jul 23, 2024

    56/100
    • ECI116.6
    • Price$0.152 / $0.167
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct
  2. Our pick

    Mistral AI

    Pixtral 12B

    Released Sep 1, 2024

    64/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.15 / $0.15
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Pixtral 12B

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Pixtral 12B is our pick

Pixtral 12B is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct (56). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. 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 pricePixtral 12BPixtral 12B $0.15 · Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct $0.156 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameLlama-3.1-8B-Instruct 128,000 · Pixtral 12B 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsPixtral 12BLlama-3.1-8B-Instruct: Text · Pixtral 12B: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightLlama-3.1-8B-InstructPixtral 12B
Price50%8889
Inputs & features30%2550
Context window20%2424
Overall100%56/10064/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. 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 Pixtral 12B specifications side by side
SpecificationLlama-3.1-8B-InstructMetaPixtral 12BMistral AI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)116.6—
ECI rank#145 of 148—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions27.0%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics1.7%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.152$0.15 (best)
Output$0.167$0.15 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.156$0.15 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 9 providersOfficial Mistral API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens128,000 tokens
Max output4,096 tokens128,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID—pixtral-12b
API providers9 (best)4
ReleasedJul 23, 2024Sep 1, 2024
Knowledge cutoffDec 2023Sep 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$1.85
  • Pixtral 12B$1.80
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct or Pixtral 12B?

Pixtral 12B is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct (56). It leads on inputs & features. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. 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 Pixtral 12B?

Pixtral 12B is cheaper at $0.15 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct costs $0.152 input / $0.167 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.15 per million tokens for Pixtral 12B versus $0.156 for Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct (1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct has an ECI of 116.6 and Pixtral 12B 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 Pixtral 12B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct and Pixtral 12B share the same 128,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct up to 4,096, Pixtral 12B up to 128,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct accepts text; Pixtral 12B accepts text and images. Pixtral 12B handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Pixtral 12B is the newest, released Sep 1, 2024. Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct came out Jul 23, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct Dec 2023, Pixtral 12B Sep 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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