GeForce RTX 5080 vs NVIDIA L4, AI & Machine Learning Comparison
GeForce RTX 5080 wins 5 of 11 benchmarks, averaging 126.9% faster.
Both cards were measured first-party on our bench, same suite, same test rig.
What the numbers say
The gap is widest in Llama 3.1 8B, where GeForce RTX 5080 leads by 199% (150.71 vs 50.45 tok/s); the closest fight is Z-Image Turbo (9% apart); VRAM decides part of this one: GeForce RTX 5080 runs 138 of our 12 AI workloads while the other card runs 6, models that don't fit score zero.
Benchmark results head-to-head
| Benchmark | GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA L4 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3 4B tok/s | 215.89 | 84 | +157% |
| Llama 3.1 8B tok/s | 150.71 | 50.45 | +199% |
| Qwen2.5-Coder 14B tok/s | 81.97 | 27.46 | +199% |
| Qwen3 32B tok/s | 0 | 12.42 | n/a |
| Llama 3.3 70B tok/s | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Stable Diffusion XL images/min | 8.86 | 5.18 | +71% |
| Z-Image Turbo images/min | 2.7 | 2.475 | +9% |
| FLUX.1 dev images/min | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| FLUX.1 Kontext dev images/min | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Qwen-Image-Edit images/min | 0 | 0 | n/a |
| Wan 2.2 5B (720p) frames/s | 0 | 0.15 | n/a |
Whole-job comparison
How long each card takes to finish a complete pipeline, not just one model. GeForce RTX 5080 is faster on 1 of 1; NVIDIA L4 on 0.
| Workflow | GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA L4 | Difference | Cost per run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full codebase review | 12.2 min | 36.4 min | GeForce RTX 5080 2.98x faster | $0.027 vs $0.267 |
Renting by the hour, GeForce RTX 5080 finishes 1 of 1 cheaper. The quicker card is not automatically the cheaper way to get the work done.
Cost to rent
| Card | Per hour |
|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 5080 | $0.135 |
| NVIDIA L4 | $0.440 |
GeForce RTX 5080 is 3.26x cheaper per hour. Cheapest on-demand rate we see across RunPod and Vast.
Specifications compared
| GeForce RTX 5080 | NVIDIA L4 | |
|---|---|---|
| VRAM | 16GB | 24GB |
| Architecture | Blackwell (GB203) | Ada Lovelace |
| Memory bandwidth | 960 GB/s | 300 GB/s |
| Boost clock | 2,617 MHz | 2,040 MHz |
| TDP | 360 W | 72 W |
| Launch MSRP | $999 | $2,500 |
| Release | 2025-01-30 | 2023-03-21 |
FAQ
- Which is better for ai & machine learning: GeForce RTX 5080 or NVIDIA L4?
- GeForce RTX 5080 performs better for ai & machine learning, winning 5 of 11 benchmarks in our suite with an average 126.9% advantage.
- What are the main hardware differences between GeForce RTX 5080 and NVIDIA L4?
- GeForce RTX 5080 has 16GB VRAM and a 360W TDP, while NVIDIA L4 has 24GB VRAM and a 72W TDP.
- Does VRAM matter more than speed between GeForce RTX 5080 and NVIDIA L4?
- For AI, yes, GeForce RTX 5080 fits 18 more of our 12 workloads than NVIDIA L4. A model that exceeds VRAM doesn't run slower, it doesn't run at all, so the card that fits the model wins that workload outright.
- Where is the biggest performance difference between GeForce RTX 5080 and NVIDIA L4?
- Llama 3.1 8B: GeForce RTX 5080 leads by roughly 199% (150.71 vs 50.45 tok/s) in our testing.
GeForce RTX 5080 full review · NVIDIA L4 full review · All AI & Machine Learning rankings