Overview
Llama 4 Scout 17B Instruct (16E) is a mixture-of-experts (MoE) language model developed by Meta, activating 17 billion parameters out of a total of 109B. It supports native multimodal input...
Our take
The single use case this model is built for is reasoning over genuinely enormous inputs: its standout spec is a 10,000,000-token context window, far larger than anything else on this list. It is a mixture-of-experts model activating 17 billion parameters out of 109B total, with native multimodal input, tool and function calling and structured JSON output, priced at $0.10 per 1M input tokens, cheaper than roughly three-quarters of comparable models. That combination suits an engineer feeding an entire large codebase, or a full archive of contracts and their amendments, into one prompt and asking for cross-references and a parseable summary, work that smaller context windows simply cannot hold. Unlike Claude Sonnet 5 or Gemini, which offer strong but far smaller contexts, this differentiates almost entirely on the sheer size of what you can load at once, and at a low per-token price. The caveat is no free tier, with a knowledge cutoff of August 2024. Ideal for developers and analysts whose bottleneck is fitting massive documents or codebases into a single context rather than peak per-token reasoning quality. Choose it when input size is the constraint; look elsewhere if your prompts are modest and you would rather pay for sharper reasoning or a free tier.
How Meta: Llama 4 Scout stacks up
Among the 15 chatbots & llms tools in our directory, it ranks #6 of 15 on quality (8.7/10), 3% above the 15-tool average of 8.5, and its $0.1/1M input-token rate is in the budget end — 95% cheaper than the 10-model average of $1.99/1M.
Weighing quality against cost, Meta: Llama 4 Scout's cost-per-quality-point of $0.01 places it in the top 20% for value among chatbots & llms tools.
Meta: Llama 4 Scout in depth
Meta: Llama 4 Scout, built by Meta, sits in the chatbots & llms space and is a paid tool starting at $0.10/1M tokens. Our editors rate it 8.7 out of 10 based on capability, ecosystem and value. It handles a context window of 1,310,720 tokens.
On the feature side, Meta: Llama 4 Scout brings 1,310,720-token context window, vision (image input), tool / function calling and structured (json) outputs. These are the capabilities that most shape day-to-day use and separate it from thinner alternatives.
Its biggest strength is low api price — $0.1 per 1m input tokens, cheaper than roughly 75% of comparable models, while the main trade-off to weigh is that no free tier — usage is billed per token. Keep both in mind when deciding whether it fits your workflow.
Meta: Llama 4 Scout is most often chosen for research and writing. If that matches your goals, it's a strong candidate to shortlist.
Key features
- ✓1,310,720-token context window
- ✓Vision (image input)
- ✓Tool / function calling
- ✓Structured (JSON) outputs
- ✓Knowledge cutoff 2024-08-31
Pricing
Pros
- +Low API price — $0.1 per 1M input tokens, cheaper than roughly 75% of comparable models
- +Large 1,310,720-token context window, bigger than most models listed here
- +Accepts images as input (vision-capable)
- +Supports tool / function calling for agent-style workflows
Cons
- −No free tier — usage is billed per token
Who should use Meta: Llama 4 Scout
- →Anyone looking for a chatbots & llms tool from Meta.
- →Teams and individuals focused on research and writing.
- →People who value low api price — $0.1 per 1m input tokens, cheaper than roughly 75% of comparable models.
- →Workflows that need a 1,310,720 tokens context window.
Who should look elsewhere
- →Anyone who needs a free tier — this tool is paid only.
- →Those for whom no free tier — usage is billed per token is a dealbreaker.
Best for
10 Best Meta: Llama 4 Scout Alternatives in 2026
Meta: Llama 4 Scout is a strong chatbots & llms tool, but it is not the only option. Whether you are after a lower price, different features or a better fit for your workflow, here are the 10 best alternatives to Meta: Llama 4 Scout, ranked and compared.
Anthropic
Claude is Anthropic's family of AI assistants, known for long-context reasoning, careful writing and strong coding…
OpenAI
ChatGPT is OpenAI's flagship conversational AI, powering hundreds of millions of weekly users across web, mobile and…
Google DeepMind
Gemini is Google's natively multimodal model family, deeply integrated across Search, Workspace, Android and the Pixel…
DeepSeek
DeepSeek is a Chinese AI lab that stunned the industry with frontier-level reasoning models at a fraction of typical…
Perplexity AI
Perplexity is an AI answer engine that combines live web search with large language models to deliver cited, up-to-date…
Alibaba Cloud
Qwen is Alibaba's series of open-weight models spanning chat, coding, vision and math.
Mistral AI
Mistral AI is a European lab offering both open-weight and commercial models that punch well above their size.
xAI
Grok is xAI's assistant, tightly integrated with the X platform and trained with a distinctively candid, witty persona.
Meta
Llama is Meta's family of open-weight large language models that became the de-facto foundation for the open-source AI…
Cohere
Cohere's Command models are purpose-built for enterprise retrieval-augmented generation and agentic workflows.
Meta: Llama 4 Scout vs top alternatives
A side-by-side look at how Meta: Llama 4 Scout stacks up against its closest rivals.
| Feature | Meta: Llama 4 ScoutMeta | ClaudeAnthropic | ChatGPTOpenAI | GeminiGoogle DeepMind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quality score | 8.7 / 10 | 9.6 / 10 | 9.5 / 10 | 9.2 / 10 |
| Starting price | $0.10/1M tokens | $20/mo | $20/mo | $20/mo |
| Free tier | No | Yes — Free tier available | Yes — Free tier available | Yes — Free tier available |
| API input price | $0.1 / 1M tokens | $8 / 1M tokens | $1 / 1M tokens | $1.5 / 1M tokens |
| API output price | $0.3 / 1M tokens | $40 / 1M tokens | $5 / 1M tokens | $7.5 / 1M tokens |
| Speed | — | Fast | Fast | Fast |
| Context window | 1,310,720 tokens | 200K tokens | 128K tokens | 1M-2M tokens |
| Categories | Chatbots & LLMs | Chatbots & LLMs, Coding, Writing | Chatbots & LLMs, Coding, Writing | Chatbots & LLMs, Coding, Writing |
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Frequently asked questions
Q. Is Meta: Llama 4 Scout free?
No — Meta: Llama 4 Scout is a paid tool, starting at $0.10/1M tokens.
Q. How much does Meta: Llama 4 Scout cost?
Meta: Llama 4 Scout starts at $0.10/1M tokens. API usage is around $0.1 per 1M input tokens and $0.3 per 1M output tokens.
Q. What is Meta: Llama 4 Scout best for?
Meta: Llama 4 Scout is best suited to research and writing, within the chatbots & llms category.
Q. What are the best Meta: Llama 4 Scout alternatives?
Popular alternatives to Meta: Llama 4 Scout include Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and DeepSeek. Each trades off price, quality and ecosystem differently.
Q. Is there a free alternative to Meta: Llama 4 Scout?
Yes. Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini offer a free tier, making them good starting points if you want to avoid an upfront subscription.
Q. Why switch from Meta: Llama 4 Scout?
Common reasons include pricing, specific feature gaps (No free tier — usage is billed per token), data-privacy requirements, or simply wanting a tool that fits your stack better.
How we rate AI tools
Our quality score weighs capability on real tasks, breadth of features and integrations, pricing and value, and how actively the tool is maintained. Scores are editorial guidance, not benchmarks — always trial a tool on your own workflow before committing. Pricing and features change frequently, so verify current details on the official site.
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