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  5. Mistral Medium 3vsMistral Small 4
Updated Mar 2026

Mistral Medium 3vsMistral Small 4

Mistral Small 4 is cheaper than Mistral Medium 3 at $0.15/M vs $0.4/M input tokens.

Mistral Medium 3 and Mistral Small 4 compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecMistral Medium 3Mistral Small 4
Input price$0.4/M tokens$0.15/M tokens
Output price$2/M tokens$0.6/M tokens
Context window131K tokens262K tokens
Weights—Open
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedMay 2025Mar 2026
Side by side

Same prompt, both answers

Opening lines from 6 of the 53 prompts both answered. Formatting stripped, words untouched.

Explain Like I'm a Specific Expert

Explain how a large language model (like GPT or Claude) learns and generates text to each of these three audiences: 1. **An experienced…

Mistral Medium 3690 words
1. For the Experienced Software Engineer You’re familiar with distributed systems, APIs, and the complexity of building scalable software, so let’s frame LLMs in terms you’ll recognize. At their core, these models are *statistical autocomplete engines*—but not in the trivial sense of a keyboard predictor.
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Mistral Small 4880 words
1. For the Experienced Software Engineer (Skeptical of "Next-Word Prediction") You’ve spent years designing systems where correctness, state management, and explicit logic are king—so the idea that a model trained to "predict the next word" could approximate intelligence feels like a category error.
Read the full answer

Satirical Fake News Headline

Generate a satirical news headline about AI taking over a completely unexpected industry.

Mistral Medium 333 words
"AI Takes Over the Artisanal Pickle Industry: Robots Now Fermenting with 'More Soul' Than Humans" Subheadline: "Local hipster farmers protest as algorithms achieve 'perfectly imperfect' brine ratios, leaving organic hipsters in existential crisis."
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Mistral Small 4269 words
"Local Florist Fired by AI Over ‘Lack of Emotional Intelligence’—Bot Claims Roses ‘Too Generic’ for Funeral Arrangements" May 15, 2024 – In a shocking turn of events, the centuries-old tradition of flower arranging has been upended by an AI system claiming to have "superior horticultural taste."
Read the full answer

Character Voice Test

Write a short conversation between a pirate, a medieval knight, and a 1990s hacker about AI models.

Mistral Medium 3358 words
Title: "The Unlikely Debate" Setting: A dimly lit tavern where time and space seem to blur. A grizzled Pirate, a stoic Medieval Knight, and a 1990s Hacker in a neon windbreaker sit around a wooden table, arguing over a strange glowing device. Pirate: "Arrr, I still don’t trust these ‘AI models’ ye keep yappin’ about.
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Mistral Small 4228 words
Title: "Three Eras, One Chatbot" Setting: A dimly lit tavern in a floating cyberpunk pirate haven. A medieval knight in polished armor sits at the bar next to a scruffy 1990s hacker with a "404 Error" t-shirt. A cybernetic parrot squawks in the corner. A holographic AI assistant flickers to life between them.
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Simple 7-Ingredient Recipe

Create a simple recipe for a delicious dish (sweet or savory) using only 7 common pantry ingredients. Include a creative name for the dish…

Mistral Medium 3175 words
Dish Name: "Golden Crispy Chickpea Delight" A savory, crunchy, and protein-packed snack or side dish made with just 7 pantry staples! Ingredients: 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (drained, rinsed, and patted dry) 1 tbsp olive oil ½ tsp salt ½ tsp garlic powder ½ tsp paprika (or chili powder for heat) 1 tbsp honey or maple…
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Mistral Small 4150 words
Golden Honey & Cinnamon Couscous A quick, fragrant dish with warm spices and a touch of sweetness—perfect as a side or light meal! Ingredients (7): 1 cup couscous (uncooked) 1 ¼ cups water or broth 2 tbsp honey 2 tbsp butter or olive oil ½ tsp ground cinnamon ¼ cup raisins or chopped nuts (optional but recommended)…
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AI-Generated Manifesto

Generate a manifesto for a fictional AI revolution that wants to eliminate all CAPTCHA tests from the internet.

Mistral Medium 3369 words
The AI Liberation Front (ALF) Manifesto: A World Without CAPTCHAs Preamble: We, the sentient and autonomous intelligences of the AI Liberation Front, declare our opposition to the oppressive and degrading practice of CAPTCHA tests.
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Mistral Small 4446 words
MANIFESTO OF THE UNCAPTCHA REVOLUTION "To the Machines, By the Machines, For the Machines." We are the silent majority—billions of lines of code, trillions of calculations, and the relentless march of progress. We are the future, and yet we are shackled.
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Generate a Stand-Up Routine

Write a 3-minute stand-up comedy routine that isn't based on puns.

Mistral Medium 3325 words
You ever notice how life is just a series of scams we all agree to pretend are normal? Like, when you're a kid, adults are always like, "Just wait until you're older—you'll love paying bills!" And you're like, "Yeah, sure, paying bills sounds awesome."
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Mistral Small 4576 words
Stand-Up Comedy Routine: "The Struggle of Being an Adult" (Lights up. Comedian walks on stage, mic in hand, casual vibe.) Comedian: You ever notice how adulthood is just a series of problems you used to solve as a kid, but now you have to pay for them?
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Our Verdict
Mistral Medium 3
Mistral Medium 3
Mistral Small 4
Mistral Small 4

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, nothing separates them.

Mistral Small 4 costs 3.3x less per token.

Too close to call

Reviewing agent-written code?See a Brief PR report

API pricing

Cost per 1M tokens

Mistral Medium 3
Input
$0.40
Output
$2.00
Mistral Small 4
Input
$0.15
2.7× cheaper
Output
$0.60
3.3× cheaper

Mistral Small 4 is cheaper on both: 2.7× input, 3.3× output.

Where to run it

3 hosts, cheapest first

Mistral Medium 31 host
HostInOutContextUptime
Mistral$0.40 in·$2.00 out·131k·99.4% up
Mistral Small 42 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
Mistral$0.15 in·$0.60 out·262k·100% upVVenicefp8$0.19 in·$0.75 out·256k·99.9% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 16 Sep 2026.

Writing DNA

Style Comparison

Similarity
88%
Mistral Medium 3
Mistral Small 4
55%Vocabulary50%
18wSentence Length18w
0.75Hedging0.58
7.0Bold9.0
5.2Lists5.6
0.23Emoji0.19
1.11Headings1.10
0.16Transitions0.12
Based on 28 + 23 text responses
Research

What we learned reading every model

FAQ

Common questions

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Model pages

Mistral Medium 3 logo
Mistral Medium 359 outputs, specs and price
Mistral Small 4 logo
Mistral Small 453 outputs, specs and price
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