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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct vs Step 1 (32K)

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct comes out ahead, 56 to 18 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    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. StepFun

    Step 1 (32K)

    Released Jan 1, 2025

    18/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$2.05 / $9.59
    • Context33K
    Full specs Remove Step 1 (32K)

  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 56/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18). It leads on price and context window. 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 priceLlama-3.1-8B-InstructLlama-3.1-8B-Instruct $0.156 · Step 1 (32K) $3.94 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextLlama-3.1-8B-InstructLlama-3.1-8B-Instruct 128,000 · Step 1 (32K) 32,768 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsLlama-3.1-8B-Instruct: Text · Step 1 (32K): Text
  • Self-hostingLlama-3.1-8B-InstructPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightLlama-3.1-8B-InstructStep 1 (32K)
Price50%8822
Inputs & features30%2525
Context window20%240
Overall100%56/10018/100

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 Step 1 (32K) specifications side by side
SpecificationLlama-3.1-8B-InstructMetaStep 1 (32K)StepFun
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 (best)$2.05
Output$0.167 (best)$9.59
Cached input—$0.41
Blended (3:1)$0.156 (best)$3.94
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 9 providersOfficial StepFun (Global) API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Max output4,096 tokens32,768 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenProprietary
API model ID—step-1-32k
API providers9 (best)1
ReleasedJul 23, 2024Jan 1, 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$1.85
  • Step 1 (32K)$39.68
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct or Step 1 (32K)?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 56/100 against Step 1 (32K) (18). It leads on price and context window. 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 Step 1 (32K)?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct is cheaper at $0.152 input / $0.167 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers). Step 1 (32K) costs $2.05 input / $9.59 output per million tokens (official StepFun (Global) API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.156 per million tokens for Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct versus $3.94 for Step 1 (32K) (25× 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 Step 1 (32K) 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 Step 1 (32K) 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 has the largest context window at 128,000 tokens, against 32,768 for Step 1 (32K). Maximum output per response: Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct up to 4,096, Step 1 (32K) up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct accepts text; Step 1 (32K) accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Step 1 (32K) is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Step 1 (32K) is the newest, released Jan 1, 2025. Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct came out Jul 23, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct Dec 2023, Step 1 (32K) 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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