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o4-mini vs Mistral Large 3

Pricing, context window, and benchmark comparison · Last updated April 2026

Quick Verdict

o4-mini is cheaper than Mistral Large 3 at $1.10/1M/1M vs $2.00/1M/1M input tokens — a 1.8x cost difference. o4-mini scores higher on quality benchmarks (ELO 1350). Choose o4-mini for cost-sensitive workloads; both are strong choices depending on your budget.

Detailed Comparison

Metrico4-miniMistral Large 3
Input Price / 1M tokens$1.10/1MCheaper$2.00/1M
Output Price / 1M tokens$4.40/1MCheaper$6.00/1M
Context Window200KLarger131K
ELO Score (LMSYS)1350Smarter1320
Open Source
Free Tier
Release Date2025-042025-12

Which is cheaper: o4-mini or Mistral Large 3?

o4-mini is the cheaper option at $1.10/1M per 1M input tokens, compared to $2.00/1M for Mistral Large 3. That is a 1.8x cost difference on input tokens. Output pricing follows a similar pattern: o4-mini charges $4.40/1M/1M vs $6.00/1M/1M for Mistral Large 3.

Which has better quality: o4-mini or Mistral Large 3?

Based on LMSYS Chatbot Arena rankings, o4-mini achieves a higher ELO score (1350 vs 1320), suggesting stronger performance on open-ended tasks. o4-mini excels at cheapest reasoning model in the openai lineup. Mistral Large 3 is known for european data residency — gdpr-friendly.

Which should you choose: o4-mini or Mistral Large 3?

Choose o4-mini if:
  • Cheapest reasoning model in the OpenAI lineup
  • Strong performance on code and math for the price
  • 200K context window
Choose Mistral Large 3 if:
  • European data residency — GDPR-friendly
  • Strong multilingual performance (French, German, Spanish)
  • Competitive pricing vs. US flagships

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper: o4-mini or Mistral Large 3?

o4-mini is cheaper at $1.10/1M per 1M input tokens, making it 1.8x more affordable.

Which has better quality: o4-mini or Mistral Large 3?

o4-mini scores higher on the LMSYS Chatbot Arena with an ELO of 1350, suggesting better overall quality for most tasks.

Which has a larger context window: o4-mini or Mistral Large 3?

o4-mini has a larger context window at 200K tokens.

Should I choose o4-mini or Mistral Large 3?

Choose o4-mini if cost is the priority. Choose o4-mini if benchmark quality is most important. Consider your specific use case: o4-mini is best for reasoning and coding, while Mistral Large 3 excels at translation and coding.

Is o4-mini or Mistral Large 3 open source?

o4-mini is proprietary. Mistral Large 3 is proprietary.

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