What Does Llama 3 405B Cost?
Llama 3 405B pricing: self-host at ~$4/hr on 8xH100 or use API providers. Context window: 128K. Best for privacy-first, custom fine-tuning, self-hosted deployments.
Pricing Overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Input price (per 1M tokens) | Free (self-hosted) / varies by API provider |
| Output price (per 1M tokens) | Free (self-hosted) / varies by API provider |
| Context window | 128K tokens |
| Speed (typical) | 25 tok/s |
| Provider | Meta (open-source) |
Self-Hosting Costs
| Setup | Hardware | Monthly Cost | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud GPU (8xH100) | 8x NVIDIA H100 80GB | ~$23,000/mo | Production workloads |
| Cloud GPU (8xA100) | 8x NVIDIA A100 80GB | ~$15,000/mo | Cost-optimized production |
| On-demand spot | Spot 8xH100 | ~$8,000/mo | Batch processing |
API Provider Pricing
| Provider | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Together.ai | $5.00 | $15.00 | Available now |
| Fireworks | $3.00 | $9.00 | Available now |
| Groq | N/A | N/A | waitlist |
Llama 3 405B vs Alternatives
| Model | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) | Context | Speed | Quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Llama 3 405B | Self-host | Self-host | 128K | 25 tok/s | 86/100 |
| Gemini 2.0 Pro | $1.25 | $5.00 | 1M | 100 tok/s | 87/100 |
| Claude Sonnet 4 | $3.00 | $15.00 | 200K | 80 tok/s | 88/100 |
| Mistral Large | $2.00 | $6.00 | 128K | 70 tok/s | 84/100 |
When to Use Llama 3 405B
- Best for: privacy-first, custom fine-tuning, self-hosted deployments
- Context window: 128K tokens — handles most documents and conversations
- Speed: 25 tok/s — better for batch/async tasks
- Quality: 86/100 — strong, suitable for most tasks
API Code Example (via Together.ai)
from openai import OpenAI
# Together.ai provides OpenAI-compatible API
client = OpenAI(
base_url="https://api.together.xyz/v1",
api_key="your-together-api-key"
)
response = client.chat.completions.create(
model="meta-llama/Meta-Llama-3-405B",
messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Summarize this document..."}],
max_tokens=1024
)
# Cost via Together.ai: ~$5/$15 per 1M tokens
# Self-host on 8xH100: ~$4/hr on 8xH100 (no per-token cost)
usage = response.usage
cost = (usage.prompt_tokens / 1_000_000) * 5 + (usage.completion_tokens / 1_000_000) * 15
print(f"Cost via Together.ai: {cost:.6f}")Monthly Cost Estimates
| Usage Level | Setup | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Light (testing/dev) | Shared GPU or API provider | ~$100/mo (shared GPU) |
| Medium (production) | Dedicated 1x H100 | ~$2,880/mo (1x H100) |
| Heavy (enterprise) | 8x H100 cluster | ~$23,000/mo (8x H100) |
FAQ
How much does Llama 3 405B cost per API call?
Llama 3 405B is open-source and free to download. API access via providers like Together.ai costs approximately $3-$15 per 1M tokens. Self-hosting on 8xH100 costs ~$4/hr on 8xH100.
Is Llama 3 405B worth the price?
Llama 3 405B scores approximately 86/100 on aggregate benchmarks. It is best suited for privacy-first, custom fine-tuning, self-hosted deployments. As an open-source model, you can self-host for full data privacy.
What are cheaper alternatives to Llama 3 405B?
Top alternatives: Gemini 2.0 Pro at $1.25/$5.00, Claude Sonnet 4 at $3.00/$15.00, Mistral Large at $2.00/$6.00. Use KickLLM's calculator to compare costs for your specific workload.
Prices last verified: April 2026. Pricing may change — always check provider websites for current rates.
Calculate your LLM API costs with KickLLM — free, no sign-up required.