GPT-5 nano 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
GPT-5 nano specs · Llama 4 405B specs- PriceGPT-5 nano
GPT-5 nano publishes pricing ($0.40 / 1M output tokens) while Llama 4 405B does not.
- Context windowGPT-5 nano
GPT-5 nano accepts 400K tokens vs 256K, 1.6× 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.
- ModalitiesTie
Both handle text, vision.
- OpennessLlama 4 405B
Llama 4 405B ships open weights (Llama 4 Community License); GPT-5 nano is API-only.
On balance GPT-5 nano edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against Llama 4 405B's 1. GPT-5 nano publishes pricing ($0.40 / 1M output tokens) while Llama 4 405B does not. GPT-5 nano accepts 400K tokens vs 256K, 1.6× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. Both target the same set of modalities (text, vision), so the deciding factors are price, context, and raw quality. Llama 4 405B ships open weights (Llama 4 Community License); GPT-5 nano is API-only.
GPT-5 nano is the newer of the two, released 4 months after Llama 4 405B, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. GPT-5 nano is usually picked for cheapest llm and fastest llm 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 | GPT-5 nano | Llama 4 405B |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | Meta |
| Released | Aug 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text, vision |
| Context window | 400K tokens | 256K tokens |
| Max output | 128K tokens | , |
| Input · 1M | $0.050 / 1M tokens | Pricing not published |
| Output · 1M | $0.40 / 1M tokens | Pricing not published |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-09 | 2024-12 |
| Open weights | No | 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$0.750 vs ,
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$7.50 vs ,
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$9.90 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.
- GPT-5 nano$0.025
- 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.
GPT-5 nano fits when…
- Lowest-cost OpenAI model with vision support
- Fast P99 latency
- Good enough for routing and classification
- Long-context tasks, handles 400K tokens vs 256K for Llama 4 405B.
Llama 4 405B fits when…
- Strongest open-weight model at launch
- Multimodal (text + vision)
- Wide hosting availability
- Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Llama 4 Community License).
Consider GPT-5.5
OpenAI's mid-cycle GPT-5 refresh, improved reasoning, tool use, and multimodal grounding over the 2025 launch.
Frequently asked
Is GPT-5 nano 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?
GPT-5 nano accepts 400K tokens vs 256K for Llama 4 405B.Is GPT-5 nano or Llama 4 405B better for coding?
Both GPT-5 nano 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?
Llama 4 405B ships open weights (Llama 4 Community License). GPT-5 nano is API-only.When were GPT-5 nano and Llama 4 405B released?
GPT-5 nano was released by OpenAI on 2025-08-07. Llama 4 405B was released by Meta on 2025-04-05.
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