Mistral Small 4 vs o3
Complete pricing and performance comparison between Mistral's Mistral Small 4 and OpenAI's o3.
Quick Verdict
Cheaper
Mistral Small 4
13.3x cheaper input, 13.3x cheaper output
Larger Context
Mistral Small 4
256K vs 200K
Pricing Comparison
| Spec | Mistral Small 4 | o3 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider | Mistral | OpenAI | |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.15 | $2 | Mistral Small 4 is 93% more expensive |
| Output / 1M tokens | $0.6 | $8 | Mistral Small 4 is 93% more expensive |
| Context Window | 256K | 200K | 1x difference |
| Max Output | 33K | 100K | |
| Tokenizer | cl100k_base | o200k_base |
Performance Benchmarks
| Metric | Mistral Small 4 | o3 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quality Index | -- | 38 | N/A |
| Output Speed | -- | 74 tok/s | N/A |
| Value (Quality/$) | -- | 19.2 | Higher = better value |
Benchmark data from Artificial Analysis. Quality Index is a composite score across reasoning, coding, and knowledge tasks.
Cost at Scale
Estimated cost at different usage levels (3:1 input-to-output token ratio, typical for chat).
| Usage | Mistral Small 4 | o3 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
Single request 1K in / 300 out | $0.0003 | $0.0044 | Mistral Small 4 saves $0.0041 |
10 requests 10K in / 3K out | $0.0033 | $0.044 | Mistral Small 4 saves $0.041 |
100 requests 100K in / 30K out | $0.033 | $0.440 | Mistral Small 4 saves $0.407 |
1,000 requests 1M in / 300K out | $0.330 | $4.40 | Mistral Small 4 saves $4.07 |
10,000 requests 10M in / 3M out | $3.30 | $44.00 | Mistral Small 4 saves $40.70 |
1M requests/mo 1B in / 300M out | $330.00 | $4400.00 | Mistral Small 4 saves $4070.00 |
Pros & Cons
Mistral Small 4 Strengths
- +Cheaper input tokens
- +Cheaper output tokens
- +Larger context window (256K vs 200K)
o3 Strengths
- +Higher max output tokens
When to Use Each Model
Choose Mistral Small 4 for
- →Budget-conscious projects where cost is the primary factor
- →Long documents, large codebases, or multi-turn conversations
Choose o3 for
- →Generating long-form content or detailed code
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper, Mistral Small 4 or o3?
For input tokens, Mistral Small 4 is 13.3x cheaper at $0.15/1M tokens. For output tokens, Mistral Small 4 is 13.3x cheaper at $0.6/1M tokens. At typical usage (1M input + 300K output), Mistral Small 4 costs $0.330 vs o3 at $4.40.
What's the context window difference?
Mistral Small 4 supports 256K context (256,000 tokens), while o3 supports 200K (200,000 tokens). Mistral Small 4 can handle 1x more context in a single request.
Which model has better benchmarks?
When should I choose Mistral Small 4 over o3?
Choose Mistral Small 4 when you need: Cheaper input tokens, Cheaper output tokens, Larger context window (256K vs 200K). Choose o3 when you need: Higher max output tokens.
How much would 10,000 API requests cost?
At 1K input + 300 output tokens per request (typical chat): Mistral Small 4 = $3.30, o3 = $44.00. At 10K input + 1K output per request (longer conversations): Mistral Small 4 = $21.00, o3 = $280.00.