Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 1, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Opus 4.6 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,574 vs 1,370), while Claude Opus 4.6 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (75.9%), while Llama 3.1 405B is more budget-friendly at $3.5/1M per 1M output tokens, while Claude Opus 4.6 provides faster response streaming (64 tok/s). Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
9 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Follow-on Opus release. Slightly behind 4.5 on official SWE-bench bash-only in the last published sweep; stronger multi-step autonomous agent reasoning.
Meta flagship open-weight 405B dense foundation model with 128k context window.
Currently comparing Claude Opus 4.6 vs Llama 3.1 405B. Alternative family tiers available.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Δ 204 Arena Elo pts
64 tok/s
$3.5 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Claude Opus 4.6 | Llama 3.1 405B | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +204 | ||
| Coding Elo | +185 | ||
| LiveBench | +10.8% | ||
| SWE-bench | +17.5% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +9.6% | ||
| Time to first token | — | ||
| Output speed | 64 tok/s | 42 tok/s | +22 tok/s |
| Input price | $1.25/1M | +$13.75/1M | |
| Output price | $3.5/1M | +$71.5/1M | |
| Context window | +72k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Llama 3.1 405B is estimated to save $1,553.75/month ($18,645/year).
Higher SWE-bench (75.9%).
Lower output list price ($3.5/1M).
Lower TTFT (360 ms).
Larger window (200k).
Claude Opus 4.6 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4.6 | Higher SWE-bench (75.9%). |
| High-volume chat | Llama 3.1 405B | Lower output list price ($3.5/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Claude Opus 4.6 | Lower TTFT (360 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Opus 4.6 | Larger window (200k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Opus 4.6 | Claude Opus 4.6 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
