AllocateLlama Guard 4 12B GPU requirements
What it takes to run Llama Guard 4 12B locally: memory by quantization, the smallest GPU that fits, and the managed alternative.
Llama Guard 4 12B serves up to 1,048,576 tokens of context; the KV cache grows linearly toward that ceiling, so the slider below shows exactly what longer context costs in memory.
Smallest single device that fits: RTX 4090 (24 GB)
How it works
Common questions
How much VRAM does Llama Guard 4 12B need?
At 8K context: roughly 28 GB at FP16, 14 GB at 8-bit, and 8 GB at 4-bit, including KV cache and runtime overhead. Longer context adds memory linearly.
Can a single GPU run Llama Guard 4 12B?
At 4-bit, yes: a RTX 4090 (24 GB) or larger handles it at 8K context. At FP16 you need a RTX 5090 (32 GB) or larger.
Does quantization hurt Llama Guard 4 12B's quality?
Modern 4-bit quantization costs a small amount of quality for a 4x memory saving; 8-bit is near-lossless. Validate on your own tasks before production.
What license is Llama Guard 4 12B under?
Llama community. Check the license terms for your use case before deployment.
Is there an alternative to buying GPUs for Llama Guard 4 12B?
Yes: managed inference. Allocate serves Llama Guard 4 12B token-metered from $0.2 per million input tokens at provider list price, plus the 7% transaction fee. Idle time costs nothing.
More free tools
Allocate serves open-weight models like Llama Guard 4 12B token-metered inside your own boundary. No hardware to buy, and if you fine-tune on your data, the weights are yours.