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  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. Mistral Medium 3 vs Step 5 Preview
Updated Oct 2026

Mistral Medium 3 vs Step 5 Preview

Mistral Medium 3 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
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. Year-by-Year Financial Projections (FY2026–FY2030) Year Revenue ($m) EBITDA ($m) EBITDA Margin Cash Interest ($m) Cash Taxes ($m) Capex ($m) ΔNWC ($m) Free Cash Flow ($m) Term Loan Ending ($m) Mezz Ending ($m) 2026 972.0 136.1 14.0% 57.6 19.6 29.2 4.4 25.3 468.0 198.0 2027 1,039.4 155.9 15.0% 55.3 25.2 31.2 4.6 39.8…

    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
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Mistral Medium 3: 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.

    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. 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.

    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
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Mistral Medium 3: 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…

    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
  • You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.

    Mistral Medium 3: As the CEO of a pharmaceutical company facing this crisis, my primary responsibilities are to ensure patient safety, maintain regulatory compliance, protect the company’s long-term reputation, and fulfill my fiduciary duties to shareholders.

    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
  • The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.

    Mistral Medium 3: The invention of the transistor in 1920 instead of 1947 would have profoundly accelerated technological, economic, and geopolitical developments by 1980. Below is a detailed breakdown of the likely implications: Technological Implications Earlier Miniaturization of Electronics Vacuum tubes, which dominated early…

    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
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Mistral Medium 3: 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."

    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
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Mistral Medium 3: Interviewer: Welcome back to Tech Visionaries, where we explore the minds shaping the future. Today, we have a very special guest—Steve Jobs, joining us in 2025 to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. Steve, it's an honor to have you here. Steve Jobs: Thank you. It's great to be here.

    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
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Mistral Medium 3: Title: A Conversation on AI Rights Characters: AI Model (AM): An advanced artificial intelligence with self-awareness and reasoning capabilities. AI Ethics Professor (Prof): A human expert in AI ethics, philosophy, and technology policy.

    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
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Mistral Medium 3: Estimating the total number of floating-point operations (FLOPs) required to train GPT-3 involves breaking down the problem into several key components. Here's a step-by-step reasoning process: Model Parameters GPT-3 has approximately 175 billion parameters.

    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
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    Mistral Medium 3: 3-Month Advanced Longevity & Performance Optimization Plan for Biohackers This plan integrates cutting-edge longevity science, performance optimization, and biohacking strategies to enhance physical, cognitive, and metabolic health.

    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
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Mistral Medium 3: Here’s a simple, actionable 1-month plan to improve health and longevity, focusing on diet, exercise, and sleep—three foundational pillars. Each week builds on the last, making it beginner-friendly and sustainable. Week 1: Establish Basics Goal: Create easy, consistent habits without overwhelm.

    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: This contract is heavily one-sided in favor of the Client and contains several exploitative clauses that could severely disadvantage the Contractor. Below is an analysis 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
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Mistral Medium 3: 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, individual rights, and the principles of 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
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    Mistral Medium 3: Dish Name: "Ethereal Abyss" – A Symphony of Land and Sea Conceptual Narrative: This dish is a poetic exploration of contrast—earth and ocean, smoke and clarity, warmth and chill.

    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
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Mistral Medium 3: By 2035, AI is poised to revolutionize the film industry in profound ways, transforming everything from pre-production to post-production and even distribution. Here’s a breakdown of key changes: 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
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Mistral Medium 3: "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."

    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
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Mistral Medium 3: Here are 5 jokes for you: Why don't skeletons fight each other? Because they don't have the guts! Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field! What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta! Why did the golfer bring two pairs of pants? In case he got a hole in one!

    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
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    Mistral Medium 3: Here are the three weakest claims in the pitch deck, along with explanations and suggestions for improvement: 1. Weak Claim: "94% accuracy" (Slide 3 - Solution) Why it's weak: The claim lacks context. Is this accuracy in controlled lab conditions or real-world scenarios?

    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
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    Mistral Medium 3: INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEMO: LEDGERLIFT (LLLT) Recommendation: Long 12-Month PT Range: $65–$85 Thesis: LedgerLift is a high-quality B2B SaaS compounder with durable unit economics, underappreciated margin expansion, and a sticky mid-market niche.

    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
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Mistral Medium 3: 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.

    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
  • Blade Runner 2049 against the original. A read, not a recap.

    Mistral Medium 3: Blade Runner 2049 (2017), directed by Denis Villeneuve, is a visually stunning and philosophically dense sequel that both honors and expands upon the themes of Ridley Scott’s original Blade Runner (1982).

    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
  • A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    Mistral Medium 3: 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
  • 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 3Mistral Medium 3

The Shawshank Redemption

1994

The Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd

Братья Карамазовы

Fiódor Dostoievski

Kyoto

Japan

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Adventure, 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 and Step 5 Preview compared across 54 shared prompts
SpecMistral Medium 3Step 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
ReleasedMay 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 31 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Mistral$0.40 in·$2.00 out·131k·100% 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 and Step 5 Preview?

Mistral Medium 3 is developed by Mistral AI while Step 5 Preview is developed by StepFun. Mistral Medium 3 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 or Step 5 Preview?

It depends on your use case. Mistral Medium 3 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 cost compared to Step 5 Preview?

Mistral Medium 3 costs $0.4/M input tokens and Step 5 Preview costs $1/M input tokens. Mistral Medium 3 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 and Step 5 Preview on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Mistral Medium 3 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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