solar-mini vs Solar Mini 4 vs Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B
Solar Mini 4 comes out ahead, 64 to 51 and 50 on our weighted score, though Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is 20% cheaper per token.
Upstagesolar-mini
50/100- ECI—
- Price$0.15 / $0.15
- Context33K
- Our pickUpstage
Solar Mini 4
64/100- ECI—
- Price$0.10 / $0.40
- Context524K
Nous ResearchHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B
51/100- ECI—
- Price$0.14 / $0.14
- Context8K
Solar Mini 4 is our pick
Solar Mini 4 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B (51) and solar-mini (50). It leads on inputs & features 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 priceHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B $0.14 · solar-mini $0.15 · Solar Mini 4 $0.175 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextSolar Mini 4Solar Mini 4 524,288 · solar-mini 32,768 · Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B 8,192 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputssolar-mini: Text · Solar Mini 4: Text · Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B: Text
- Self-hostingHermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BPublishes downloadable weights (Llama 3 Community License)
| Measure | Weight | solar-mini | Solar Mini 4 | Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 85 | 82 | 87 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 45 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 0 | 49 | 0 |
| Overall | 100% | 50/100 | 64/100 | 51/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | solar-miniUpstage | Solar Mini 4Upstage | Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8BNous Research |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.15 | $0.10 (best) | $0.14 |
| Output | $0.15 | $0.40 | $0.14 (best) |
| Cached input | — | $0.01 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.15 | $0.175 | $0.14 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Upstage API | Official Upstage API | Median of 2 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 32,768 tokens | 524,288 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Max output | 4,096 tokens | 131,072 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yesminimal · low · medium · high · xhigh · max | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | OpenLlama 3 Community License |
| API model ID | solar-mini | solar-mini4 | — |
| API providers | 1 | 4 (best) | 2 |
| Released | Jun 12, 2024 | Sep 22, 2026 | Apr 30, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Sep 2024 | Feb 2026 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- solar-mini$1.80
- Solar Mini 4$1.80
- Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B$1.68
Which should you choose?
Which is better: solar-mini, Solar Mini 4 or Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B?
Solar Mini 4 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B (51) and solar-mini (50). It leads on inputs & features 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, solar-mini, Solar Mini 4 or Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B?
Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B is cheaper at $0.14 input / $0.14 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). solar-mini costs $0.15 input / $0.15 output per million tokens (official Upstage API price); Solar Mini 4 costs $0.10 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Upstage API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.14 per million tokens for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B versus $0.15 for solar-mini (1.1× as much) and $0.175 for Solar Mini 4 (1.2× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. solar-mini has not been scored yet, Solar Mini 4 has not been scored yet and Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for solar-mini, Solar Mini 4 and Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Solar Mini 4 has the largest context window at 524,288 tokens, against 32,768 for solar-mini and 8,192 for Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B. Maximum output per response: solar-mini up to 4,096, Solar Mini 4 up to 131,072, Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
solar-mini accepts text; Solar Mini 4 accepts text; Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B publishes its weights (Llama 3 Community License) and can be self-hosted; solar-mini and Solar Mini 4 is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Solar Mini 4 is the newest, released Sep 22, 2026. solar-mini came out Jun 12, 2024; Hermes 2 Pro Llama 3 8B came out Apr 30, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: solar-mini Sep 2024, Solar Mini 4 Feb 2026.
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.
