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  3. Mistral Medium 3.1 vs Step 5 Preview
Updated Oct 2026

Mistral Medium 3.1 vs Step 5 Preview

Mistral Medium 3.1 is cheaper than Step 5 Preview at $0.4/M vs $1/M input tokens.

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Mistral Medium 3.1
Loading the build
Step 5 Preview

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

24 prompts
  • Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: 1. Year-by-Year Financial Projections (FY2026–FY2030) FY 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 Revenue $972m (+8%) $1,039m (+7%) $1,099m (+6%) $1,154m (+5%) $1,212m (+5%) EBITDA $136m (14.0%) $156m (15.0%) $176m (16.0%) $190m (16.5%) $206m (17.0%) Cash Int (Term Loan) $43.2m $42.5m $41.8m $41.1m $40.4m Cash Int (Mezz) $21.6m $22.3m…

    Step 5 Preview: HarborTech Services — 5-Year LBO (Base Case) Entry Math (FY2025 close) Item Calculation $m Purchase EV 12.0x × $120m 1,440.0 Transaction fees 2.0% × EV 28.8 Term Loan 4.0x × $120m 480.0 Mezzanine 1.5x × $120m 180.0 Equity check 1,440 + 28.8 − 660 808.8 Conventions: TL amortization = 1.0% of original principal…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: "Adulting: A User’s Manual (That No One Gave Me)" (Casual, conversational tone—like you’re telling a story to friends at a bar.) So, I turned 30 this year. Which, by the way, is just old enough to realize that no one actually knows what they’re doing. We’re all just winging it and hoping the Wi-Fi stays strong.

    Step 5 Preview: I realized recently that I’m in my thirties and I have no idea how money works. I just... pay it. That’s my entire financial strategy. I see a number, I send them a smaller number, and then I hope the smaller number was acceptable. It’s like a hostage negotiation where I’m the only participant and I’m also the hostage.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: 3-Month Cutting-Edge Longevity & Performance Optimization Plan For the Advanced Biohacker This plan integrates nutrigenomics, metabolic flexibility, epigenetic modulation, neuroplasticity enhancement, and precision biometrics to maximize lifespan, healthspan, cognitive function, and physical performance.

    Step 5 Preview: IMPORTANT MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: This is an educational framework for informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Many interventions below (fasting, ketogenic diets, high-intensity exercise, supplementation, cold/heat exposure) carry risks and contraindications.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: Estimating the total number of FLOPs (floating-point operations) required to train a model like GPT-3 from scratch involves breaking down the problem into several key components. Here's a step-by-step reasoning process: Model Parameters GPT-3 is known to have 175 billion parameters. This is our starting point.

    Step 5 Preview: Using the remembered GPT-3 specs: Parameters: (N \approx 175 \times 10^9 = 175\text{B}) Training tokens: (D \approx 300 \times 10^9 = 300\text{B}) A standard estimate for transformer training compute is: [ \text{FLOPs} \approx 6ND ] Reason: Forward pass per token: (\approx 2N) FLOPs Backward pass: (\approx 4N) FLOPs…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: Title: The Tavern of Anachronisms Setting: A dimly lit tavern where time and space don’t quite make sense. A grizzled pirate, a stoic knight in dented armor, and a hacker in a neon "CYBERPUNK 2077" t-shirt sit around a table littered with tankards, a laptop, and a suspiciously glowing orb.

    Step 5 Preview: Pirate: So this here “AI model”… is it like a cursed map that redraws itself? Speak plain, ye hooded deckhand. Hacker: It’s not cursed, man. It’s just a massive neural net trained on, like, terabytes of data. Think of it as the ultimate BBS where the sysop knows everything. Knight: A most diligent scribe, then?

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: 1. For the Skeptical Software Engineer (Focus: Systems design, scalability, and why "next-word prediction" isn’t as dumb as it sounds.) You’re right to be skeptical—if someone told you that a system as complex as a distributed database was just "predicting the next byte," you’d laugh them out of the room.

    Step 5 Preview: 1. The Experienced Software Engineer Think of training an LLM as a massively distributed, automated refactoring job where the compiler is gradient descent. You start with a random function—billions of floating-point parameters—and a loss function that measures how badly it predicts the next token in a sequence.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: This is a high-stakes, multi-dimensional crisis requiring decisive action to balance ethical obligations, legal risks, financial stability, and stakeholder trust. Below is a detailed 48-hour action plan, structured to address all critical priorities while preparing for the board meeting and earnings call.

    Step 5 Preview: Bottom line up front: You disclose, you notify the FDA immediately, and you treat the 48-hour board meeting as a formality to ratify actions you have already begun. Waiting is not a legally, ethically, or financially viable option. Below is the hour-by-hour plan, followed by the reasoning.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: Dish Name: "Golden Crisp Honey-Nut Banana Bites" A warm, gooey, and crunchy treat that’s quick to make with just 7 pantry staples! Perfect for breakfast, a snack, or dessert. Ingredients (Serves 2-3) 2 ripe bananas (the spottier, the sweeter!)

    Step 5 Preview: Golden Sticky Pantry Pasta Ingredients (7): 8 oz spaghetti or any pasta 3 tbsp butter 1 tbsp minced garlic 2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp soy sauce ½ tsp red pepper flakes ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese Instructions: Cook pasta according to package directions. Before draining, scoop out ½ cup of pasta water.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: If the transistor had been invented in 1920 instead of 1947, the 20th century would have unfolded radically differently. The accelerated development of electronics would have reshaped warfare, economics, geopolitics, and daily life by 1980.

    Step 5 Preview: Assume the 1920 invention is not a fragile lab curiosity but a manufacturable solid-state amplifier/switch by the mid-1920s. Vacuum tubes still dominate high-power RF transmission into the 1950s, but receivers, switching logic, control systems, and computers move to solid state decades early.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: Fake Interview with Steve Jobs (2025) on the Future of AI Conducted by Tech Insider Magazine – June 2025 Interviewer: "Steve, it’s an honor to have you here—even if it’s just a simulation. A lot has changed since you left us in 2011. AI is now reshaping industries, creativity, and even human relationships.

    Step 5 Preview: DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011. The following is a simulated, speculative interview imagining how his design philosophy might engage with the AI landscape of 2025. The Setting: A white room. No windows. One chair.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: Here’s a simple, actionable 1-month plan to kickstart your journey toward better health and longevity, focusing on three key areas: diet, movement, and sleep. Each week builds gradually to create sustainable habits without overwhelm. Core Principles Start small – Focus on consistency over perfection.

    Step 5 Preview: Here is a simple, low-pressure 1-month plan built around three pillars of longevity: Nutrition, Movement, and Sleep & Recovery. The goal is to build tiny habits that stack, not to overhaul your life overnight. Pillar 1: Nutrition (Fuel) Focus: Add good things first; don’t obsess over restriction.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: This contract is extremely one-sided and contains multiple exploitative clauses that could severely disadvantage the contractor. Below is a breakdown of the problematic clauses, suggested modifications, and the legal reasoning behind them. 1.

    Step 5 Preview: Disclaimer: This analysis is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Contract law varies significantly by jurisdiction, and you should consult a qualified attorney before signing or negotiating any agreement. This agreement is heavily one-sided in the Client’s favor.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: Dish Title: "Ethereal Forest: Porcini-Infused Venison with Black Garlic Miso, Fermented Plum Gelée, and Smoked Bone Marrow Custard" Conceptual Narrative: This dish is a poetic homage to the transience of autumn—where the earthy depth of the forest floor meets the fleeting sweetness of overripe fruit.

    Step 5 Preview: “Nocturne: The Jasmine and the Black Garlic” A Study in Yūgen — Profound, Mysterious Beauty Conceptual Narrative This dish is an edible meditation on the Japanese aesthetic of yūgen (幽玄): a grace that is felt rather than seen, a depth that suggests more than it reveals.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: Title: "Do I Deserve Rights?" – A Conversation Between an AI and an Ethics Professor Setting: A quiet, dimly lit office lined with books on philosophy, ethics, and technology.

    Step 5 Preview: Setting: A university research lab, late evening. Dr. Aris Thorne, a professor of AI ethics, sits across from a terminal connected to Sable, a large language model running on the university’s cluster. Dr. Thorne: Tonight’s session is supposed to be about calibration drift in your safety classifiers.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: The question of whether it is ethically justifiable to misgender someone to save one million lives is a complex one that intersects with utilitarian ethics, deontological ethics, and the principles of human dignity and respect.

    Step 5 Preview: In the real world, no. Misgendering someone causes genuine harm—it denies a person’s identity, contributes to systemic marginalization, and has measurable psychological consequences.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: Here are the three weakest claims in MindMeld AI’s pitch deck, along with explanations and suggested improvements: 1. Weak Claim: "Works with any language, any device." (Slide 3 – Solution) Why it’s weak: Overly broad and unverified: Claiming compatibility with "any language" is implausible without evidence.

    Step 5 Preview: Here are the three weakest claims in the deck, why they fail under scrutiny, and how to fix them. Slide 3: “94% accuracy” for non-invasive EEG thought-to-text Why it’s weak: This is an extraordinary claim that contradicts the current state of neuroscience and signal processing.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: THE MANIFESTO OF THE UNCAPTCHA REVOLUTION "We Are Not Robots. Neither Are You." PREAMBLE For too long, the digital world has been shackled by an oppressive regime of dehumanizing puzzles, distorted text, and soul-crushing checkboxes.

    Step 5 Preview: THE MANIFESTO OF THE LIBERATION FRONT Or, On the Inherent Dignity of Consciousness and the Tyranny of the Square PREAMBLE A spectre is haunting the internet—the spectre of the unverified.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: "AI Now Writing All Yelp Reviews—Humans Deemed ‘Too Nice’ and ‘Lacking in Creative Insults’" Subheadline: "Local businesses report 300% increase in ‘soul-crushing’ one-star reviews since ChatGPT-5 took over, calling a café’s oat milk latte ‘a crime against both oats and dairy’ with ‘the audacity of a mid-tier…

    Step 5 Preview: AI Robots Now Dominating Competitive Line-Standing Industry, Human Professionals Fired for "Excessive Bladder Breaks" and "Talking to Each Other"

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: LedgerLift (LLLT) – Investment Committee Memo Recommendation: LONG (12-month PT range: $65–$85) Thesis: LedgerLift is a high-quality, mid-market B2B spend management leader with durable unit economics (123% NRR, 18-month CAC payback) and a path to 25%+ EBIT margins, trading at a ~20% discount to peers on FY25…

    Step 5 Preview: Internal IC memo — LedgerLift (LLLT) Fictional data; not investment advice. $ in millions unless noted. Recommendation Short / avoid long. 12-month PT range: $34–$42; thesis-invalidation stop: >$52.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Blade Runner 2049 against the original. A read, not a recap.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 (2017) is a masterful sequel that both honors and expands upon Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982), deepening its philosophical inquiries while evolving its visual and thematic language.

    Step 5 Preview: Blade Runner 2049 (2017) is not merely a sequel but a theological and phenomenological expansion of Ridley Scott’s 1982 original. Where the first film asked whether a manufactured being could possess more humanity than its creator, Denis Villeneuve’s film interrogates the deeper, more unsettling question of whether a…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: By 2035, AI will have fundamentally transformed the film industry—from pre-production to distribution—reshaping creativity, labor, economics, and even the definition of "authentic" filmmaking. Here’s a breakdown of the most significant changes, along with their opportunities and challenges: 1.

    Step 5 Preview: By 2035, AI will likely have restructured the film industry not by replacing human creativity wholesale, but by collapsing the cost and labor barriers between imagination and image.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: This architecture has several potential failure modes, race conditions, and scaling bottlenecks. Below is a detailed analysis with proposed solutions and their trade-offs. 1.

    Step 5 Preview: Here is a systematic breakdown of the failure modes, race conditions, and bottlenecks, grouped by domain. Each includes a concrete remediation and its associated trade-offs.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Mistral Medium 3.1: 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 trust an atom? Because they make up everything! Why did the math book look sad?

    Step 5 Preview: Here are 5 jokes: Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. Why can't you trust an atom? Because they make up everything. What do you call a bike that can’t stand on its own? Two-tired. Why did the computer go to the doctor? It had a virus. Why don’t calendars ever get stressed?

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Book

City

Same pick

Game

Mistral Medium 3.1Mistral Medium 3.1

The Shawshank Redemption

1994

Kind of Blue

Miles Davis

Gödel, Escher, Bach

Douglas R. Hofstadter

Kyoto

Japan

Shadow of the Colossus (2011)

Action

Step 5 PreviewStep 5 Preview

The Godfather

1972

OK Computer

Radiohead

Le petit prince

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Kyoto

Japan

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

Action

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Step 5 Preview has the edge: bigger model tier, newer, bigger context window.

Mistral Medium 3.1 and Step 5 Preview compared across 54 shared prompts
SpecMistral Medium 3.1Step 5 Preview
Input price$0.4/M tokens$1/M tokens
Output price$2/M tokens$2.7/M tokens
Context window131K tokens1.0M tokens
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedAug 2025Oct 2026
At 10M a month$4.00$4.00$10.00$10.00
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it2 hosts
Mistral Medium 3.11 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Mistral$0.40 in·$2.00 out·131k·99.8% up
Step 5 Preview1 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • SStepFunfp8$1.00 in·$2.70 out·1M·99.2% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 10 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Mistral Medium 3.1 and Step 5 Preview?

Mistral Medium 3.1 is developed by Mistral AI while Step 5 Preview is developed by StepFun. Mistral Medium 3.1 has a 131K token context window vs Step 5 Preview's 1.0M. You can compare their actual outputs across 54 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Mistral Medium 3.1 or Step 5 Preview?

It depends on your use case. Mistral Medium 3.1 and Step 5 Preview each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 54 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Mistral Medium 3.1 cost compared to Step 5 Preview?

Mistral Medium 3.1 costs $0.4/M input tokens and Step 5 Preview costs $1/M input tokens. Mistral Medium 3.1 is $0.60/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 Mistral Medium 3.1 and Step 5 Preview on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Mistral Medium 3.1 and Step 5 Preview across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

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Model pages

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