OpenAI o1-mini vs Mistral Small 3
Performance benchmarks + pricing comparison — updated April 2026
OpenAI o1-mini
OpenAICost-effective reasoning model. Good for coding tasks that require logical reasoning.
| Input | $1.10/M |
| Output | $4.40/M |
| Context | 128K tokens |
| Best For | Coding logic, debugging, algorithm design |
| Benchmark | 70/100 |
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 |
Benchmark Performance Comparison
Third-party benchmark scores — higher is better. Data sourced from SWE-bench, LiveCodeBench, HumanEval, and BigCodeBench.
| Benchmark | OpenAI o1-mini | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 70 | 42 | o1-mini leads by 28pts |
| SWE-bench Verified | 64 | 35 | o1-mini leads by 29pts |
| LiveCodeBench | 72 | 44 | o1-mini leads by 28pts |
| HumanEval | 90 | 65 | o1-mini leads by 25pts |
| BigCodeBench | 54 | 28 | o1-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 | OpenAI o1-mini | Mistral Small 3 | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Script (1K lines) | $0.17 | $0.01 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.16 (93%) |
| Medium Feature (10K lines) | $1.27 | $0.10 | Mistral Small 3 saves $1.17 (92%) |
| Large Project (50K lines) | $6.33 | $0.47 | Mistral Small 3 saves $5.85 (92%) |
| Code Review (5K lines) | $0.30 | $0.02 | Mistral Small 3 saves $0.28 (92%) |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI o1-mini | 70 | $0.016/pt | Higher cost per point |
| Mistral Small 3 | 42 | $0.002/pt | Better value |
Mistral Small 3 delivers the best value at $0.002 per score point.
Strengths & Weaknesses
OpenAI o1-mini
- + Reasoning at lower cost
- + Good for competitive programming
- - Slower than standard models
Mistral Small 3
- + Ultra-cheap
- - Very limited capabilities
Verdict
Mistral Small 3 is cheaper at $0.100/M, but OpenAI o1-mini scores higher on benchmarks (70 vs 42).
Choose Mistral Small 3 for cost-sensitive projects, OpenAI o1-mini when performance matters most.
Compare with Other Models
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Claude 3.5 Sonnet
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Claude 3.5 Haiku
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Claude 3 Opus
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Claude 3 Sonnet
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