Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Opus 4.8 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,598 vs 1,285), while Claude Opus 4.8 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (78.4%), while Llama 3.3 70B is more budget-friendly at $0.59/1M per 1M output tokens. 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
Prior Opus generation still billed at $5/$25. Kept as a compare baseline against Opus 5.
Currently comparing Claude Opus 4.8 vs Llama 3.3 70B. 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 313 Arena Elo pts
140 tok/s
$0.59 / 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 4.8 | Llama 3.3 70B | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +313 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +23.8% | ||
| SWE-bench | +33.3% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +20.5% | ||
| Time to first token | +170 ms | ||
| Output speed | 66 tok/s | 140 tok/s | +74 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.18/1M | +$4.82/1M | |
| Output price | $0.59/1M | +$24.41/1M | |
| Context window | +872k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Llama 3.3 70B is estimated to save $534.85/month ($6,418/year).
Higher SWE-bench (78.4%).
Lower output list price ($0.59/1M).
Lower TTFT (160 ms).
Larger window (1M).
Claude Opus 4.8 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4.8 | Higher SWE-bench (78.4%). |
| High-volume chat | Llama 3.3 70B | Lower output list price ($0.59/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Llama 3.3 70B | Lower TTFT (160 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Claude Opus 4.8 | Larger window (1M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Opus 4.8 | Claude Opus 4.8 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
Opus 4.8 still bills $5/$25. We keep it so Opus 5 vs 4.8 is a real generation delta, not marketing.
Dec 2024 instruct 70B. Still a self-host baseline. Llama 4 is the 2026 buy.
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Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry
