Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct vs Qwen-72B
Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct (70.6B parameters) and Qwen-72B (72.3B parameters) side by side: the memory each needs at every precision, what it costs to run on a live GPU, and the context window, KV cache and license where they are published. Numbers are computed from the models' published specs; this page does not rank quality.
Side by side
| Fact | Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct | Qwen-72B |
|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 70.6B | 72.3B |
| Architecture | Grouped-query attention | Multi-head attention |
| Context length | 128K tokens | 32,768 tokens |
| License | Llama 3.3 Community License Agreement | – |
| Published precision | BF16 | BF16 |
| VRAM needed, As published | 158 GB | 162 GB |
| VRAM needed, FP8 | 78.8 GB | 80.8 GB |
| VRAM needed, INT4 | 39.4 GB | 40.4 GB |
| Cheapest live fit, As published | RTX A5000 × 7 · $1.23/hr | RTX A5000 × 7 · $1.23/hr |
| Cheapest live fit, FP8 | RTX PRO 6000 · $1.38/hr | RTX PRO 6000 · $1.38/hr |
| Cheapest live fit, INT4 | RTX A6000 · $0.363/hr | RTX A6000 · $0.363/hr |
| KV cache per token (16-bit) | 320 KB | 2.50 MB |
| KV cache at 32k tokens | 10.0 GB | 80.0 GB |
| KV cache at 128k tokens | 40.0 GB | 320 GB |
VRAM is the weight size at each precision times a flat 1.2 overhead; see the methodology. The FP8 and INT4 rows need a quantized checkpoint or an engine that quantizes on load. The fit is the lowest-priced single GPU type that holds the model at that precision, or the lowest-priced multi-GPU set (up to 8) when none does. KV cache is for one sequence at 16-bit, computed from each model's config where the attention layout is known.
Which to pick
- Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct needs less VRAM at its published precision (158 GB against 162 GB), so it fits on a smaller GPU.
- Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct lists the longer context window (131,072 tokens against 32,768).
- Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct caches less per sequence at 32k tokens (10.0 GB against 80.0 GB), leaving more memory for batching.
These follow only from the facts in the table above. Whether either model does your task well is a separate question this page does not answer.
Keep reading
- Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct: full VRAM table and live GPU fit
- Qwen-72B: full VRAM table and live GPU fit
- The Llama model series
- The Qwen model series
- All models that fit in 192 GB
Other comparisons