Llama 4 Maverick vs Reka Flash 3.1

Meta · US  |  Reka AI · US · Updated June 2026

Quick verdict

Pick Llama 4 Maverick for open weights, 1m context or strong image + text understanding. Pick Reka Flash 3.1 for a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists) or strong base for fine-tuning agentic tasks - notably improved coding since the original flash 3.

Llama 4 Maverick (Meta) and Reka Flash 3.1 (Reka AI) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Llama 4 Maverick is meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments. Reka Flash 3.1 is reka AI's compact 21B open-weight reasoning model - small enough to run locally, from a team of DeepMind and Meta alumni. Their biggest split is context window, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.

Key differences at a glance

Side-by-side specs

SpecLlama 4 MaverickReka Flash 3.1
ProviderMeta (US) Reka AI (US)
ReleasedApril 2025 July 2025
Context window1M (~1,500 pages) 32K (~49 pages)
Price (in/out)Open weight (self-host / free) Open weight (self-host / free)
Open weight?Yes — self-hostable Yes — self-hostable
Modalitiestext, image, code text, code
SWE-Bench VerifiedNot published Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1MNot published Not published

Who wins what

Open weights, 1M context

Llama 4 Maverick

Its 1M window holds about 31× more than Reka Flash 3.1's 32K in a single prompt.

Strong image + text understanding

Llama 4 Maverick

Meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments — and it carries the larger 1M context.

Self-hostable

Llama 4 Maverick

Llama 4 Maverick lists self-hostable among its strengths; Reka Flash 3.1 does not.

A 21B-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists)

Reka Flash 3.1

Llama 4 Maverick is comparatively weak here — trails closed frontier on reasoning

Strong base for fine-tuning agentic tasks - notably improved coding since the original Flash 3

Reka Flash 3.1

Reka AI's compact 21B open-weight reasoning model - small enough to run locally, from a team of DeepMind and Meta alumni — and it is the newer of the two.

Fully open weights (Apache 2.0) from a frontier-caliber research team

Reka Flash 3.1

Reka Flash 3.1 lists fully open weights (Apache 2.0) from a frontier-caliber research team among its strengths; Llama 4 Maverick does not.

Largest single-prompt input

Llama 4 Maverick

Its 1M window is about 31× larger than Reka Flash 3.1's 32K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.

Which should you pick?

Someone analysing very long documents or codebases

Llama 4 Maverick

Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.

Anyone whose priority is open weights, 1m context

Llama 4 Maverick

It is specifically built for that.

Anyone whose priority is a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists)

Reka Flash 3.1

That is its strongest area.

Llama 4 Maverick: where it fits

Meta's open-weight 1M-context multimodal model for self-hosted deployments. Released April 2025 by Meta, it is built for open weights, 1M context, strong image + text understanding, self-hostable, and 400B MoE, 17B active.

Its trade-offs are real: needs serious hardware to self-host, and trails closed frontier on reasoning. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.

Reka Flash 3.1: where it fits

Reka AI's compact 21B open-weight reasoning model - small enough to run locally, from a team of DeepMind and Meta alumni. Released July 2025 by Reka AI, it is built for a 21B-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists), strong base for fine-tuning agentic tasks - notably improved coding since the original Flash 3, fully open weights (Apache 2.0) from a frontier-caliber research team, and built by alumni from Google DeepMind and Meta's AI labs.

Its trade-offs: a relatively small 32K context window next to million-token frontier models, smaller and less capable overall than flagship frontier models from major labs, and reka's broader roadmap has shifted toward robotics/world models after merging with Moonvalley in June 2026, raising questions about ongoing LLM investment. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.

The bottom line for this matchup

Llama 4 Maverick and Reka Flash 3.1 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Llama 4 Maverick holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Llama 4 Maverick for open weights, 1m context, Reka Flash 3.1 for a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists). Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.

Want both Llama 4 Maverick and Reka Flash 3.1 without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.

See pricing

Frequently asked questions

Is Llama 4 Maverick or Reka Flash 3.1 better for coding?

Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Llama 4 Maverick leans toward open weights, 1m context while Reka Flash 3.1 leans toward a 21b-parameter reasoning model, small enough for local/on-device deployment (a 3.5-bit quantized build exists), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.

Which is cheaper, Llama 4 Maverick or Reka Flash 3.1?

They are priced almost identically, so cost will not decide between them.

Which has the bigger context window?

Llama 4 Maverick — 1M vs 32K, about 31× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.

Can I use both Llama 4 Maverick and Reka Flash 3.1 together?

Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Llama 4 Maverick, Reka Flash 3.1 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.

Which is newer, Llama 4 Maverick or Reka Flash 3.1?

Reka Flash 3.1 — released July 2025, about 3 months after Llama 4 Maverick.

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Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.