Gemma 2 9B vs Llama 4 405B
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
Gemma 2 9B specs · Llama 4 405B specs- PriceTie
Neither model publishes per-token API pricing.
- Context windowLlama 4 405B
Llama 4 405B accepts 256K tokens vs 8.2K, 31.3× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesLlama 4 405B
Llama 4 405B supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Gemma 2 9B.
- OpennessTie
Both ship open weights, self-host either one.
On balance Llama 4 405B edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against Gemma 2 9B's 0. Neither model publishes per-token API pricing. Llama 4 405B accepts 256K tokens vs 8.2K, 31.3× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Gemma 2 9B handles text while Llama 4 405B handles text, vision, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Both ship open weights, self-host either one.
Llama 4 405B is the newer of the two, released 9 months after Gemma 2 9B, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Gemma 2 9B is usually picked for on device and edge deployment workloads, while Llama 4 405B sees more deployments in open source llm and fine tuning. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Gemma 2 9B | Llama 4 405B |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Meta | |
| Released | Jun 2024 | Apr 2025 |
| Modalities | text | text, vision |
| Context window | 8.2K tokens | 256K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | Pricing not published | Pricing not published |
| Output · 1M | Pricing not published | Pricing not published |
| Knowledge cutoff | , | 2024-12 |
| Open weights | Yes (Gemma License) | Yes (Llama 4 Community License) |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
Pricing at scale
What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day, vs ,
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day, vs ,
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day, vs ,
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates). RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: pricing not directly comparable (one or both models are missing public per-token rates).
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Gemma 2 9BPricing unavailable
- Llama 4 405BPricing unavailable
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
- MMLU71.3
Gemma 2 9B fits when…
- Strong 9B-class quality
- Wide tooling
Llama 4 405B fits when…
- Strongest open-weight model at launch
- Multimodal (text + vision)
- Wide hosting availability
- Long-context tasks, handles 256K tokens vs 8.2K for Gemma 2 9B.
- Multimodal needs covering vision.
Consider Gemini 3 Pro
Google's late-2025 flagship, set new benchmarks on long-context, vision, and reasoning at competitive pricing.
Frequently asked
Is Gemma 2 9B or Llama 4 405B cheaper?
Per-token pricing isn't published for at least one of these models, check each model's spec page for current rates.Which has the larger context window?
Llama 4 405B accepts 256K tokens vs 8.2K for Gemma 2 9B.Is Gemma 2 9B or Llama 4 405B better for coding?
Both Gemma 2 9B and Llama 4 405B are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.Are either of these models open source?
Both ship with open weights. Gemma 2 9B is licensed under Gemma License; Llama 4 405B under Llama 4 Community License.When were Gemma 2 9B and Llama 4 405B released?
Gemma 2 9B was released by Google on 2024-06-27. Llama 4 405B was released by Meta on 2025-04-05.
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