Mistral Small 3 vs Grok 3
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 |
Grok 3
xAIxAI's flagship model. Strong general-purpose capability with real-time knowledge access through X platform integration.
| Input | $3.00/M |
| Output | $15.00/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | General coding, research tasks, current-event-aware applications |
| Benchmark | 70/100 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3 | Grok 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 42 | 70 | Grok 3 leads by 28pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 35 | 64 | Grok 3 leads by 29pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 44 | 72 | Grok 3 leads by 28pts |
| HumanEval | 65 | 88 | Grok 3 leads by 23pts |
| BigCodeBench | 28 | 56 | Grok 3 leads by 28pts |
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 | Grok 3 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.01 | $0.55 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.54 (98%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.10 | $4.05 | Mistral Small 3 saves $3.95 (98%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $0.47 | $20.25 | Mistral Small 3 saves $19.77 (98%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.02 | $0.90 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.87 (97%) |
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 |
| Grok 3 | 70 | $0.043/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
Grok 3
- + Strong reasoning
- + X integration
- - Newer model
- - Limited ecosystem
Verdict
Mistral Small 3 is cheaper at $0.100/M, but Grok 3 scores higher on benchmarks (70 vs 42).
Choose Mistral Small 3 for cost-sensitive projects, Grok 3 when performance matters most.
Compare with Other Models
Claude Sonnet 4
AnthropicAnthropic's balanced model for coding and general tasks. Best price-performance ratio in the Claude family.
Claude Opus 4
AnthropicAnthropic's most powerful model. Best for complex reasoning and challenging coding tasks.
Claude 3.5 Sonnet
AnthropicPrevious generation Sonnet. Still excellent for coding tasks at the same price point.
Claude 3.5 Haiku
AnthropicFast, cost-effective model for high-volume tasks. Great for code review and simple queries.
Claude 3 Opus
AnthropicFirst generation Opus. Highest reasoning capability in the Claude 3 family.
Claude 3 Sonnet
AnthropicFirst generation Sonnet. Balanced performance for general tasks.