Mistral Small 3 vs Grok 3 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 |
Grok 3 Mini
xAICost-effective xAI model for high-volume tasks. Good balance of capability and affordability.
| Input | $0.300/M |
| Output | $0.500/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | High-volume tasks, simple coding, cost-sensitive projects |
| Benchmark | 50/100 |
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 Mini | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 42 | 50 | Grok 3 Mini leads by 8pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 35 | 42 | Grok 3 Mini leads by 7pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 44 | 52 | Grok 3 Mini leads by 8pts |
| HumanEval | 65 | 72 | Grok 3 Mini leads by 7pts |
| BigCodeBench | 28 | 36 | Grok 3 Mini leads by 8pts |
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 Mini | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.01 | $0.03 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.01 (51%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $0.10 | $0.21 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.11 (54%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $0.47 | $1.02 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.55 (54%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.02 | $0.07 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.04 (62%) |
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 Mini | 50 | $0.006/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 Mini
- + Budget option
- + Fast
- - Limited capabilities
Verdict
Mistral Small 3 is cheaper at $0.100/M, but Grok 3 Mini scores higher on benchmarks (50 vs 42).
Choose Mistral Small 3 for cost-sensitive projects, Grok 3 Mini when performance matters most.
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