Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs gpt-oss-20b: pricing comparison
gpt-oss-20b is the cheaper option at $0.02/$0.09 per 1M input/output tokens — Llama 3.1 8B Instruct ($0.05/$0.08) costs about 2.8x more per input token. Full spec-by-spec breakdown below.
| Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | gpt-oss-20b | |
|---|---|---|
| Input /1M tokens | $0.05 | $0.02 |
| Output /1M tokens | $0.08 | $0.09 |
| Cache read /1M | $0.02 | $0.01 |
| Context window | 131K | 131K |
| Provider | Meta | OpenAI |
| Vision input | No | No |
| Released | Jul 2024 | Aug 2025 |
Real workload costs: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs gpt-oss-20b
Cost per single request at common token profiles — the cheapest model for each workload is highlighted.
| Workload | Tokens (in / out) | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | gpt-oss-20b |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chatbot message | 500 / 300 | <$0.0001 | <$0.0001 |
| RAG query with context | 4,000 / 500 | $0.0002 | $0.0001 |
| Document summarization | 20,000 / 1,000 | $0.0011 | $0.0004 |
| Agent coding session | 100,000 / 5,000 | $0.0054 | $0.0022 |
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs gpt-oss-20b?
gpt-oss-20b is the cheapest on input tokens at $0.02 per 1M, and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheapest on output at $0.08 per 1M. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs about 2.8x more per input token than gpt-oss-20b.
How much does Llama 3.1 8B Instruct cost per 1M tokens?
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs $0.05 per 1M input tokens and $0.08 per 1M output tokens on the Meta API, with a 131K-token context window.
How much does gpt-oss-20b cost per 1M tokens?
gpt-oss-20b costs $0.02 per 1M input tokens and $0.09 per 1M output tokens on the OpenAI API, with a 131K-token context window.
What does a typical request cost on Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs gpt-oss-20b?
For a typical request with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct costs $0.0001, gpt-oss-20b costs <$0.0001. At 1,000 requests/day for a month that is $4.20 for Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs $2.43 for gpt-oss-20b.
Estimate your own workload with the per-model calculators (Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, gpt-oss-20b), browse all current prices on the live model pricing dashboard, or run these models head-to-head on a real prompt (free account required). Prices may differ from provider list prices for batch or tiered usage.
Pricing data via the OpenRouter models API.