Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 1, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Mistral Large 3 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,456 vs 1,370), while Llama 3.1 405B leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (58.4%), while Llama 3.1 405B is more budget-friendly at $3.5/1M per 1M output tokens, while Mistral Large 3 provides faster response streaming (112 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
Meta flagship open-weight 405B dense foundation model with 128k context window.
Mistral European flagship with strong function calling.
Δ 86 Arena Elo pts
112 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 | Llama 3.1 405B | Mistral Large 3 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +86 | ||
| Coding Elo | — | — | |
| LiveBench | +0.6% | ||
| SWE-bench | +3% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +1.1% | ||
| Time to first token | +170 ms | ||
| Output speed | 42 tok/s | 112 tok/s | +70 tok/s |
| Input price | $1.25/1M | +$0.75/1M | |
| Output price | $3.5/1M | +$2.5/1M | |
| Context window | +128k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Llama 3.1 405B is estimated to save $63.75/month ($765/year).
Higher SWE-bench (58.4%).
Lower output list price ($3.5/1M).
Lower TTFT (190 ms).
Larger window (256k).
Mistral Large 3 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Llama 3.1 405B | Higher SWE-bench (58.4%). |
| High-volume chat | Llama 3.1 405B | Lower output list price ($3.5/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Mistral Large 3 | Lower TTFT (190 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Mistral Large 3 | Larger window (256k). |
| Screenshots / vision | Mistral Large 3 | Mistral Large 3 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
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