Mistral Small 3 vs GPT-4.1 mini
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
Mistral Small 3
MistralMistral's cost-effective model. Very affordable for general-purpose tasks.
| Input | $0.100/M |
| Output | $0.300/M |
| Context | 32K tokens |
| Best For | High-volume tasks, cost optimization |
| Benchmark | 42/100 |
GPT-4.1 mini
OpenAICost-optimized GPT-4.1 variant. Strong coding capability at budget pricing, replacing GPT-4o mini for many use cases.
| Input | $0.400/M |
| Output | $1.60/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | High-volume coding, cost-sensitive projects, automation |
| Benchmark | 68/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3 | GPT-4.1 mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 42 | 68 | GPT-4.1 Mini leads by 26pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 35 | 62 | GPT-4.1 Mini leads by 27pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 44 | 70 | GPT-4.1 Mini leads by 26pts |
| HumanEval | 65 | 86 | GPT-4.1 Mini leads by 21pts |
| BigCodeBench | 28 | 54 | GPT-4.1 Mini leads by 26pts |
Cost Comparison by Scenario
Estimated cost per project with 30% cache hit rate. Actual costs may vary based on usage patterns.
| Scenario | Mistral Small 3 | GPT-4.1 mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.01 | $0.06 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.05 (80%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.10 | $0.46 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.37 (79%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $0.47 | $2.30 | Mistral Small 3 saves $1.83 (79%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.02 | $0.11 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.09 (77%) |
Value Analysis (Price per Benchmark Score Point)
Lower is better — how much you pay for each point of benchmark performance.
| Model | Overall Score | Price per Score Point | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral Small 3 | 42 | $0.002/pt | Better value |
| GPT-4.1 mini | 68 | $0.022/pt | Higher cost per point |
Mistral Small 3 delivers the best value at $0.002 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Mistral Small 3
- + Ultra-cheap
- - Very limited capabilities
GPT-4.1 mini
- + Good value
- + Latest architecture
- - Mini variant limitations
Verdict
Mistral Small 3 is cheaper at $0.100/M, but GPT-4.1 mini scores higher on benchmarks (68 vs 42).
Choose Mistral Small 3 for cost-sensitive projects, GPT-4.1 mini when performance matters most.
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