Mistral Small 4 vs Qwen 3.5 397B
Complete pricing and performance comparison between Mistral's Mistral Small 4 and Alibaba's Qwen 3.5 397B.
Quick Verdict
Cheaper
Mistral Small 4
4.0x cheaper input, 6.0x cheaper output
Larger Context
Mistral Small 4
256K vs 128K
Pricing Comparison
| Spec | Mistral Small 4 | Qwen 3.5 397B | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provider | Mistral | Alibaba | |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.15 | $0.6 | Mistral Small 4 is 75% more expensive |
| Output / 1M tokens | $0.6 | $3.6 | Mistral Small 4 is 83% more expensive |
| Context Window | 256K | 128K | 2x difference |
| Max Output | 33K | 33K |
Cost at Scale
Estimated cost at different usage levels (3:1 input-to-output token ratio, typical for chat).
| Usage | Mistral Small 4 | Qwen 3.5 397B | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
Single request 1K in / 300 out | $0.0003 | $0.0017 | Mistral Small 4 saves $0.0014 |
10 requests 10K in / 3K out | $0.0033 | $0.017 | Mistral Small 4 saves $0.014 |
100 requests 100K in / 30K out | $0.033 | $0.168 | Mistral Small 4 saves $0.135 |
1,000 requests 1M in / 300K out | $0.330 | $1.68 | Mistral Small 4 saves $1.35 |
10,000 requests 10M in / 3M out | $3.30 | $16.80 | Mistral Small 4 saves $13.50 |
1M requests/mo 1B in / 300M out | $330.00 | $1680.00 | Mistral Small 4 saves $1350.00 |
Pros & Cons
Mistral Small 4 Strengths
- +Cheaper input tokens
- +Cheaper output tokens
- +Larger context window (256K vs 128K)
Qwen 3.5 397B Strengths
Part of the Alibaba ecosystem
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 Qwen 3.5 397B for
- →Projects already integrated with Alibaba's ecosystem
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is cheaper, Mistral Small 4 or Qwen 3.5 397B?
For input tokens, Mistral Small 4 is 4.0x cheaper at $0.15/1M tokens. For output tokens, Mistral Small 4 is 6.0x cheaper at $0.6/1M tokens. At typical usage (1M input + 300K output), Mistral Small 4 costs $0.330 vs Qwen 3.5 397B at $1.68.
What's the context window difference?
Mistral Small 4 supports 256K context (256,000 tokens), while Qwen 3.5 397B supports 128K (128,000 tokens). Mistral Small 4 can handle 2x more context in a single request.
When should I choose Mistral Small 4 over Qwen 3.5 397B?
Choose Mistral Small 4 when you need: Cheaper input tokens, Cheaper output tokens, Larger context window (256K vs 128K). Choose Qwen 3.5 397B when you need: a Alibaba ecosystem model.
How much would 10,000 API requests cost?
At 1K input + 300 output tokens per request (typical chat): Mistral Small 4 = $3.30, Qwen 3.5 397B = $16.80. At 10K input + 1K output per request (longer conversations): Mistral Small 4 = $21.00, Qwen 3.5 397B = $96.00.
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