Llama 3.1 8B Instruct vs Gemma 2 9B Instruct
Side-by-side VRAM requirements, benchmark scores, and GPU compatibility for local AI inference.
Quick verdict
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is more hardware-efficient: it needs 6.7 GB at its Q4_K_M build vs 9.4 GB for Gemma 2 9B Instruct's Q4_K_M, fitting on 114 GPUs natively.
VRAM at each quantization (8k context)
FP32
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
37.0 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
44.4 GB
BF16
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
19.1 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
23.8 GB
FP16
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
19.1 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
23.8 GB
Q8_0
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
10.7 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
14.1 GB
Q6_K
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
8.6 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
11.6 GB
Q5_K_M
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
7.6 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
10.5 GB
Q4_K_M
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
6.7 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
9.4 GB
Q3_K_M
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
5.5 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
8.1 GB
Q2_K
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
4.6 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
7.1 GB
NVFP4
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
5.7 GB
Gemma 2 9B Instruct
8.3 GB
| Quant | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | Gemma 2 9B Instruct | Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| FP32 | 37.0 GB | 44.4 GB | -17% |
| BF16 | 19.1 GB | 23.8 GB | -20% |
| FP16 | 19.1 GB | 23.8 GB | -20% |
| Q8_0 | 10.7 GB | 14.1 GB | -24% |
| Q6_K | 8.6 GB | 11.6 GB | -26% |
| Q5_K_M | 7.6 GB | 10.5 GB | -28% |
| Q4_K_M | 6.7 GB | 9.4 GB | -29% |
| Q3_K_M | 5.5 GB | 8.1 GB | -32% |
| Q2_K | 4.6 GB | 7.1 GB | -35% |
| NVFP4 | 5.7 GB | 8.3 GB | -32% |
Diff is Llama 3.1 8B Instruct relative to Gemma 2 9B Instruct. Green = lower VRAM (fits more GPUs).
Model specifications
| Spec | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | Gemma 2 9B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Org | Meta | |
| Parameters | 8B | 9.2B |
| Architecture | Dense | Dense |
| Context | 125k tokens | 8k tokens |
| Modalities | text | text |
| License | Llama 3.1 Community | Gemma |
| Commercial | Yes | Yes |
| Released | 2024-07-23 | 2024-06-27 |
| GPUs (native) | 114 / 119 | 111 / 119 |
Benchmark scores
| Benchmark | Llama 3.1 8B Instruct | Gemma 2 9B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU-Pro | 48.3 | 32.0 |
| GPQA Diamond | 30.4 | 31.5 |
| IFEval | 77.4 | 74.4 |
| MATH | 48.0 | 44.3 |
| Arena ELO | 1176.0 | 1190.0 |
Green = higher score (better). N/A = not yet available. ~ = inherited from a base model, not independently reported for that release itself.
GPUs that run only Llama 3.1 8B Instruct(3)
GPUs that run only Gemma 2 9B Instruct(0)
Every GPU that runs Gemma 2 9B Instruct also runs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.
GPUs that run both natively(111)
- NVIDIA RTX 509032 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 508016 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti16 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 507012 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 5060 Ti 16GB16 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 5060 Ti 8GB8 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 50608 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 50508 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 409024 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 408016 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti SUPER16 GB
- NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti12 GB
- +99 more GPUs run both
Which should you use?
Choose Llama 3.1 8B Instruct if:
- • You have limited VRAM: it's a smaller model needing 6.7 GB vs 9.4 GB
- • Long context matters: it supports 125k tokens vs 8k
- • Benchmark quality matters: scores 48.3 vs 32.0 on MMLU-Pro
- • It's the newer release (2024-07-23 vs 2024-06-27); check the benchmark table above for what actually improved
Choose Gemma 2 9B Instruct if:
- • You want maximum capability and have a 10 GB+ GPU
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Gemma 2 9B Instruct?
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has 8B parameters vs 9.2B for Gemma 2 9B Instruct, so Gemma 2 9B Instruct is the larger model. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is more hardware-efficient, needing 6.7 GB at its Q4_K_M build vs 9.4 GB for Gemma 2 9B Instruct's Q4_K_M. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct runs on more GPUs natively (114 vs 111). On MMLU-Pro, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct scores higher (48.3 vs 32.0).
- How much VRAM does Llama 3.1 8B Instruct need vs Gemma 2 9B Instruct?
- At 8k context, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct needs approximately 6.7 GB of VRAM at its Q4_K_M build, while Gemma 2 9B Instruct needs 9.4 GB at its Q4_K_M build. At the largest build each ships, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct requires 19.1 GB (FP16) vs 23.8 GB (FP16) for Gemma 2 9B Instruct.
- Can you run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct on the same GPUs as Gemma 2 9B Instruct?
- Yes, 111 GPUs can run both natively in VRAM, including NVIDIA RTX 5090, NVIDIA RTX 5080, NVIDIA RTX 5070 Ti. However, 3 GPUs can run Llama 3.1 8B Instruct but not Gemma 2 9B Instruct, and no GPU can run Gemma 2 9B Instruct without also fitting Llama 3.1 8B Instruct.
- What is the difference between Llama 3.1 8B Instruct and Gemma 2 9B Instruct?
- Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has 8B parameters (dense) with a 125k context window. Gemma 2 9B Instruct has 9.2B parameters (dense) with a 8k context window. Licensing differs: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is Llama 3.1 Community while Gemma 2 9B Instruct is Gemma.
- Which model fits in 24 GB of VRAM, Llama 3.1 8B Instruct or Gemma 2 9B Instruct?
- Both fit in 24 GB of VRAM at their respective recommended builds: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (Q4_K_M) needs 6.7 GB and Gemma 2 9B Instruct (Q4_K_M) needs 9.4 GB.