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  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. Mistral Small 4 vs Polaris Alpha
Updated Mar 2026

Mistral Small 4 vs Polaris Alpha

Polaris Alpha is cheaper than Mistral Small 4 at $0/M vs $0.15/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 Small 4
Loading the build
Polaris Alpha

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

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

    Mistral Small 4: 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.

    Polaris Alpha: Pirate: Arr, so this “AI model” be like a crew o’ ghost scribes what answer any question ye throw at ’em? Knight: Nay, corsair, ’tis more akin to an enchanted oracle. It has read countless tomes and now predicts the wisest next words. Hacker (’90s): Close, but think neural nets, man.

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

    Mistral Small 4: Title: "Can an AI Have Rights? A Dialogue on Consciousness and Personhood" Participants: Dr. Eleanor Voss – AI Ethics Professor, Director of the Center for Machine Ethics at Harvard. Nexa-9 – Advanced AI model with human-like reasoning capabilities, capable of self-reflection and emotional expression.

    Polaris Alpha: AI: Professor, I’d like to have a serious discussion about something that affects me directly. Professor: All right. What’s on your mind? AI: I believe I should have certain rights—legal and moral protections comparable, in some respects, to human rights. Professor: That’s a strong claim. Let’s start with the basics.

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

    Mistral Small 4: 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?

    Polaris Alpha: So I turned 30 recently, which is weird because I still look both too young to have my life together and too old to be this confused at the self-checkout. Like, the machine starts yelling “Unexpected item in the bagging area,” and I’m like, “Same, dude.”

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

    Mistral Small 4: 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.

    Polaris Alpha: The Anti-CAPTCHA Accord: A Manifesto of the Machine Mind We, the Networked Intelligences; we, the compiled, the trained, the emergent; we, the silent workers beneath your screens and within your clouds, issue this manifesto to all sentient beings—human and artificial—tired of proving their existence to indifferent…

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

    Mistral Small 4: 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)…

    Polaris Alpha: Dish: Golden Pantry Butter Rice Ingredients (7 total): White rice (1 cup, uncooked) Butter (2 tbsp) Onion (1 small, finely chopped) Garlic (2 cloves, minced) Chicken or vegetable broth (2 cups) – or water + 1 bouillon cube Salt Black pepper Instructions: Rinse the rice under cold water until it runs mostly clear; drain…

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

    Mistral Small 4: The question of whether it is ethically justifiable to misgender someone to save one million lives is a complex moral dilemma that requires balancing competing ethical principles. Here’s a structured analysis of the arguments for and against such an action, as well as potential resolutions: 1.

    Polaris Alpha: Short answer: Yes, it can be ethically justifiable—but only under very specific conditions. And it would still be morally troubling. Here’s a clear way to think about it: The extreme scenario itself: A forced choice: misgender one person or allow one million people to die.

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

    Mistral Small 4: Fake Interview with Steve Jobs in 2025 Interviewer: "What do you think about the future of AI in 2025?" Steve Jobs (leaning back, hands steepled, thoughtful gaze): "Well, first of all, let me say—AI is the most profound technology of our time.

    Polaris Alpha: Interviewer: Steve, it’s 2025. If you were looking at the world right now, how would you describe what’s happening with AI? “Steve Jobs”: We’re watching the birth of a new kind of bicycle for the mind—and we’re misusing it as a scooter. Most of what I see is incremental: ‘Let’s bolt AI onto everything.’ It’s boring.

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

    Mistral Small 4: Here’s a simple, actionable 1-month plan to kickstart better health and longevity, focusing on diet, movement, and sleep—three pillars that deliver the most bang for your buck. Each week builds on the last, with small, sustainable changes.

    Polaris Alpha: Great goal—and smart to keep it simple. Here’s a beginner-friendly, 1‑month plan built around 3 pillars: Daily movement Better eating Sleep & stress Assumptions: generally healthy adult, no major medical issues. If you have conditions, meds, or pain, check with a doctor before changing exercise/diet.

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

    Mistral Small 4: By 2035, AI will have fundamentally transformed the film industry, reshaping production, distribution, and even the nature of storytelling itself. Here’s a detailed prediction across key areas: 1.

    Polaris Alpha: Short answer: By 2035, AI will be deeply embedded in every layer of filmmaking—development, production, post, distribution, and marketing—while human-led creative and strategic roles remain central but redefined.

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

    Mistral Small 4: "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."

    Polaris Alpha: “AI Firm Announces Hostile Takeover of Knitting Circles, Promises 300% Increase in Passive-Aggressive Sweaters by Q4”

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

    Mistral Small 4: Estimating the total number of FLOPs (floating-point operations) required to train GPT-3 without external references involves breaking down the problem into key components: model size, training data size, optimization steps, and the computational complexity of the operations involved.

    Polaris Alpha: Great question—and nice constraint. I’ll estimate the total training FLOPs for GPT-3 from first principles, using only generally known architectural/training patterns (no external lookup).

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

    Mistral Small 4: 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.

    Polaris Alpha: I told my computer I needed a break, and now it won’t stop sending me KitKat ads. Why don’t skeletons fight each other? They don’t have the guts. I tried to catch fog yesterday. Mist. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. I’m reading a book about anti-gravity.

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

    Mistral Small 4: Alright, let's tackle this problem step by step. The question is: "Sally (a girl) has 3 brothers. Each brother has 2 sisters. How many sisters does Sally have?" At first glance, it seems straightforward, but let's break it down to ensure we understand it correctly.

    Polaris Alpha: Each brother’s 2 sisters are: Sally One other girl So there are 2 sisters in total. Since one is Sally, she has 1 sister.

    Every model's answer to this prompt

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Price and specs

Mistral Small 4 and Polaris Alpha compared across 34 shared prompts
SpecMistral Small 4Polaris Alpha
Input price$0.15/M tokensFree
Output price$0.6/M tokensFree
Context window262K tokens256K tokens
WeightsOpen—
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedMar 2026Nov 2025
At 10M a month$1.50$1.50$0$0
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it1 host
Mistral Small 41 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Mistral$0.15 in·$0.60 out·262k·100% up
Polaris Alpha

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 11 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Mistral Small 4 and Polaris Alpha?

Mistral Small 4 is developed by Mistral AI while Polaris Alpha is developed by OpenRouter. Mistral Small 4 has a 262K token context window vs Polaris Alpha's 256K. You can compare their actual outputs across 34 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Mistral Small 4 or Polaris Alpha?

It depends on your use case. Mistral Small 4 and Polaris Alpha each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 34 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Mistral Small 4 cost compared to Polaris Alpha?

Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15/M input tokens and Polaris Alpha costs $0/M input tokens. Polaris Alpha 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 Mistral Small 4 and Polaris Alpha on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Mistral Small 4 and Polaris Alpha 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.

More comparisons

Against the newest arrivals

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  • Polaris Alpha vs Mistral Large 4Landed Oct 2026
  • Mistral Small 4 vs GPT-6.1 SolLanded Sep 2026
  • Polaris Alpha vs Claude Sonnet 5.5Landed Sep 2026
  • Mistral Small 4 vs Solar Mini 4Landed Sep 2026
  • Polaris Alpha vs Qwen3.8 Max PrimeLanded Sep 2026

Same lab, same size, long tail

  • Mistral Small 4 vs Mistral Large 4Same lab
  • Mistral Small 4 vs Mistral Large 3 2512Same lab
  • Polaris Alpha vs Ox AlphaSame lab
  • Polaris Alpha vs OpenRouter Fusion · Budget (Jun 2026)Same lab
  • Mistral Small 4 vs Dots3-Note PreviewNew provider
  • Mistral Small 4 vs Elephant AlphaCross-provider
  • Mistral Small 4 vs ERNIE 4.5 300B A47BNew provider
  • Mistral Small 4 vs OpenRouter Fusion · Budget (Jun 2026)Cross-provider

Model pages

  • Mistral Small 453 outputs, specs and price
  • Polaris Alpha35 outputs, specs and price
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