Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Kimi K3
At a Glance
| Compare |  Kimi K3Moonshot AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5 | UnrankedNot in the 46-model eligible cohort | #17 of 4670.3 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | UnrankedNot in the 44-model eligible cohort | #30 of 44$0.194 per LiveBench case |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.5 | UnrankedNot in the 38-model eligible cohort | #21 of 3852.5 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.050Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $2.85Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 21, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.080Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $14.25Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 21, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 131K | 1,049K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct | Kimi-K3 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,186.4881% of row best · rating · llama-3.1-8b-instruct; 95% CI [1182.38141125, 1190.58254982]; votes 49605; rank 313 | 1,472.27100% of row best · rating · kimi-k3-max; 95% CI [1467.05577758, 1477.48944277]; votes 20987; rank 23 |
| ToneBench2026-09-11-10-task-4ef099199c9c · overall_score · unverified | 47.9254% of row best · points · Llama 3.1 8B · 1,165 output tokens / case | 88.19100% of row best · points · Kimi K3 · 15,023 output tokens / case |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner | 1 benchmark winNo overall winner |
Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct | Kimi-K3 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Meta | Moonshot AI |
| Family | Llama 3 1 8b Instruct | Kimi K3 |
| Model | Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct | Kimi-K3 |
| Version | Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct | Kimi-K3 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2024-07-23 | 2026-07-16 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 131K | 1,049K |
| Total parameters | 8B | 2.8T |
| Active parameters | Unknown | 104B |
| License | llama3.1 | other |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) | Deepinfra (Standard), Fireworks Ai (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, tools | chat, generation, reasoning |
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct Capabilities
Kimi K3 Capabilities
Related Comparisons
All text comparisons →| A | Pair | B | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| vs | Kimi-K2.6Moonshot AI | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs |  GPT-6 AstraOpenAI | cross-developer peerstext | |
Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic | vs | cross-developer peerstext | |
 Gemini 3.1 ProGoogle DeepMind | vs | cross-developer peerstext | |
 DeepSeek-V4.1-FlashDeepSeek | vs | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs | Grok 4.6xAI | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs |  Qwen3.8-MaxQwen | cross-developer peerstext | |
 MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs |  GLM-5.3Z.ai | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs |  Hy4 previewTencent | cross-developer peerstext | |
Seed 2.1 ProByteDance Seed | vs | cross-developer peerstext | |
| vs |  Mistral Large 3Mistral AI | cross-developer peerstext |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Kimi K3 FAQs
Is Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Kimi K3 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Kimi K3, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Kimi K3?+
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is $0.050 and Kimi K3 is $2.85 per million tokens, so Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper on this metric. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is $0.080 and Kimi K3 is $14.25 per million tokens, so Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Kimi K3?+
Kimi K3 has the larger sourced context window. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct supports 131K and Kimi K3 supports 1,049K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Kimi K3?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Kimi K3 be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same recorded self-hosting status: supported. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is open weight; Kimi K3 is open weight.
Can Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Kimi K3 understand images?+
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is not documented with image input; Kimi K3 is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Kimi K3?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is — and Kimi K3 is —.
Do Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Kimi K3 support reasoning and tool use?+
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct: tool calling. Kimi K3: reasoning and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Kimi K3?+
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has 2 sourced provider routes; Kimi K3 has 5, so Kimi K3 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Kimi K3?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.