Performance Benchmarks for llama-3.1-8b-instruct

Analyze how llama-3.1-8b-instruct stacks up against other frontier models in terms of cost-to-performance and raw intelligence (LMArena Elo).

2026 Performance Summary

🚀 Intelligence (Elo): 1211
💰 API Cost (Input): $2e-8 / 1M tokens
⚡ API Cost (Output): $5e-8 / 1M tokens
⏱️ Real-world Throughput: 29 tokens/s

Analysis: llama-3.1-8b-instruct is currently positioned on the Pareto Frontier. This means it offers a unique and optimal balance between intelligence (Elo: 1211) and cost ($2e-8/1M tokens), making it a top-tier choice for its price bracket.

Highly Recommended Alternatives

Frontier Model	LMArena Elo	API Cost (1M)	Throughput
gemini-3.5-flash	1480	$0.0000015	118
gpt-5.5	1478	$0.00000125	48.5
gemini-3-flash	1473	$5e-7	72
deepseek-v4-pro-thinking	1461	$4.35e-7	25
gemma-4-31b	1451	$1.2e-7	23

*These models represent the Pareto Frontier (optimal cost-to-performance).*