What is the difference between MiniMax M1 and Mistral Small 4?

MiniMax M1 is developed by MiniMax while Mistral Small 4 is developed by Mistral AI. MiniMax M1 has a 1.0M token context window vs Mistral Small 4's 262K. You can compare their actual outputs across 26 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, MiniMax M1 or Mistral Small 4?

It depends on your use case. MiniMax M1 and Mistral Small 4 each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 26 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does MiniMax M1 cost compared to Mistral Small 4?

MiniMax M1 costs $0.3/M input tokens and Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15/M input tokens. Mistral Small 4 is $0.15/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare MiniMax M1 and Mistral Small 4 on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of MiniMax M1 and Mistral Small 4 across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output, and Pro users can create custom challenges to test both models with their own prompts.

Rival

Updated Mar 16, 2026

MiniMax M1vsMistral Small 4

26 fights queued

Why MiniMax M1?

3.8x more context1.0M

Why Mistral Small 4?

2.6x cheaper overall$0.15/M in · $0.60/M out

9 months newerMar 2026

Favorites

MiniMax M1Mistral Small 4

Movie

Inception

20108.4

The Dark Knight

20088.5

Album

—

OK Computer

Radiohead

Book

—

Братья Карамазовы

Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский

City

—

Kyoto

Japan

Game

—

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Adventure, Action4.5

6 / 26

Stochastic Consistency Testanalysis

Tests an AI's randomness and creativity

MiniMax M1

Minimax · Jun 2025text

Nothing here. The model returned empty. We stared at it for a while.

Try this prompt

Mistral Small 4

Mistral · Mar 2026text

Here are five jokes for you:

Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They don’t have the guts.
Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field!
What do you call fake spaghetti? An impasta!
Why can’t you explain puns to kleptomaniacs? Because they always take things literally.
Why did the math book look sad? Because it had too many problems.

Unique Count:

All five jokes are unique—none of them are repeated.

Would you like jokes on a specific topic? 😊

Try this prompt

Vote

2 / 26

SVG Layout Challengeimage generation

Tests an AI's ability to generate vector graphics

MiniMax M1

Minimax · Jun 2025svg

Nothing here. The model returned empty. We stared at it for a while.

Try this prompt

Mistral Small 4

Mistral · Mar 2026svg

Nothing here. The model returned empty. We stared at it for a while.

Try this prompt

Vote

3 / 26

Xbox Controller SVG Artimage generation

Tests an AI's ability to create detailed SVG illustrations of gaming hardware

MiniMax M1

Minimax · Jun 2025svg

Nothing here. The model returned empty. We stared at it for a while.

Try this prompt

Mistral Small 4

Mistral · Mar 2026svg

Nothing here. The model returned empty. We stared at it for a while.

Try this prompt

Vote

4 / 26

Generate a Stand-Up Routineconversation

Tests an AI's humor and creative writing ability

MiniMax M1

Minimax · Jun 2025text

Nothing here. The model returned empty. We stared at it for a while.

Try this prompt

Mistral Small 4

Mistral · Mar 2026text

Nothing here. The model returned empty. We stared at it for a while.

Try this prompt

Vote

5 / 26

Minimalist Landing Pageweb design

Tests an AI's ability to generate a complete, working landing page

MiniMax M1

Minimax · Jun 2025website

Try this prompt

Mistral Small 4

Mistral · Mar 2026website

Try this prompt

Vote

6 / 26

Pokémon Battle UI Recreationweb design

Recreate an interactive, nostalgic Pokémon battle UI in a single HTML file.

MiniMax M1

Minimax · Jun 2025website

Nothing here. The model returned empty. We stared at it for a while.

Try this prompt

Mistral Small 4

Mistral · Mar 2026website

Nothing here. The model returned empty. We stared at it for a while.

Try this prompt

Vote

This matchup has more rounds

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Take the blind test

Our Verdict

MiniMax M1

Mistral Small 4Runner-up

No community votes yet. On paper, MiniMax M1 has the edge — bigger model tier, bigger context window.

Too close to call

These are our prompts. Yours will tell you more.

Run MiniMax M1 vs Mistral Small 4 on your actual task. 5 free credits. No card.

Test with your prompt

FAQ

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MiniMax M1 vs Mistral Small 4

Which is better, MiniMax M1 or Mistral Small 4?