LLaMA 3.1 405B vs LLaMA 4 Scout — Which Is Better in 2026?
LLaMA 3.1 405B vs LLaMA 4 Scout: independent head-to-head scored on Performance, Value, Reliability, and Ease of Use. See scores, pros, cons, and our verdict.
Meta
LLaMA 3.1 405B
Best open-source LLM — free to run
Meta
LLaMA 4 Scout
Best open-source model with 10M token context
7.8
Overall Score
8.0
Overall Score
WINNEROur Verdict
LLaMA 4 Scout scores higher overall (8.0/10 vs 7.8/10), winning on Performance and Value. Best open-source model with 10M token context. Free to run, industry-leading context length.
Pricing — LLaMA 3.1 405B
Free (self-hosted) · Cloud inference from $0.003/1K tokens
Pricing — LLaMA 4 Scout
See website for current pricing
LLaMA 3.1 405B
Pros
- ✓Fully open-source weights — self-host for free
- ✓No data sent to third parties
- ✓Competitive with GPT-4 class models
Cons
- ✗Requires GPU infrastructure to run
- ✗No official support or SLA
- ✗Harder to set up than hosted solutions
Best For
Privacy-first deployments, open-source enthusiasts, budget-conscious teams with infrastructure
LLaMA 4 Scout
Pros
- ✓Strong performance on key benchmarks
- ✓Active development and regular updates
- ✓Growing ecosystem and community
Cons
- ✗May have less documentation than larger platforms
- ✗Ecosystem still growing
- ✗Evaluate for your specific use case
Best For
Meta ecosystem users and teams looking for LLaMA 4 Scout capabilities
Choose LLaMA 3.1 405B if…
- →LLaMA 3.1 405B better fits your existing Meta ecosystem
- →Privacy-first deployments
- →Meta support, documentation, and community suit your team
Choose LLaMA 4 Scout if…
- →Performance is your top priority — LLaMA 4 Scout leads by 0.3 points
- →Meta ecosystem users and teams looking for LLaMA 4 Scout capabilities
- →You also value Value — LLaMA 4 Scout wins that dimension too
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LLaMA 3.1 405B better than LLaMA 4 Scout?
LLaMA 4 Scout scores 8.0/10 overall vs 7.8/10 for LLaMA 3.1 405B, with an edge on Performance and Value and Ease of Use. That said, "LLaMA 3.1 405B" may be the better pick if specific workflow fit is your priority. The right choice depends on your use case.
What is the pricing difference between LLaMA 3.1 405B and LLaMA 4 Scout?
LLaMA 3.1 405B: Free (self-hosted) · Cloud inference from $0.003/1K tokens. LLaMA 4 Scout: See website for current pricing. Compare usage volumes and features needed to determine total cost of ownership for your team.
Which is better for meta ecosystem users and teams looking for llama 4 scout capabilities?
LLaMA 4 Scout is generally stronger here, scoring 8.0/10 overall. Best open-source model with 10M token context. Free to run, industry-leading context length. For more niche requirements like specific integrations, LLaMA 3.1 405B may be worth evaluating.
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