Mistral Small 3 is $0.16 cheaper per 1M input tokens (76.2% lower; 4.2x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
DeepSeek V3.1 vs Mistral Small 3
Pick Mistral Small 3 for lower cost; pick DeepSeek V3.1 only if the larger context window matters more.
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Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick Mistral Small 3 for lower cost; pick DeepSeek V3.1 only if the larger context window matters more.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Small 3 is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.6 for DeepSeek V3.1, saving $0.52 (85.1% lower).
Cost-first pickMistral Small 3
Context-first pickDeepSeek V3.1
Sample savings$0.5285.1%
10x traffic gap$5.15
DeepSeek V3.1 has more context, but Mistral Small 3 saves $0.52 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $5.15. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Mistral Small 3 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | DeepSeek V3.1 | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Mistral Small 3 | $1.45 | $0.29 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Mistral Small 3 | $1 | $0.13 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Mistral Small 3 | $4.16 | $0.45 |
Mistral Small 3 is $0.71 cheaper per 1M output tokens (89.9% lower; 9.88x difference).
DeepSeek V3.1 has 131.07K more context (5x larger).
Mistral Small 3 is $0.52 cheaper on the standard workload (85.1% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.
Quick Decision
Mistral Small 3 has the lower input price; Mistral Small 3 has the lower output price; DeepSeek V3.1 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Mistral Small 3 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.6 for DeepSeek V3.1 and $0.09 for Mistral Small 3.
Choose DeepSeek V3.1 when you care most about larger context window.
Choose Mistral Small 3 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Small 3 is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.6 for DeepSeek V3.1, saving $0.52 (85.1% lower).
- Mistral Small 3 is $0.52 cheaper on the standard workload (85.1% lower).
- Mistral Small 3 is $0.16 cheaper per 1M input tokens (76.2% lower; 4.2x difference).
- Mistral Small 3 is $0.71 cheaper per 1M output tokens (89.9% lower; 9.88x difference).
- DeepSeek V3.1 has 131.07K more context (5x larger).
| Feature | DeepSeek V3.1 (DeepSeek) | Mistral Small 3 (Mistral) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.21 | $0.05 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $0.79 | $0.08 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.6 | $0.09 |
| Context Window | 163.84K | 32.77K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #59 | #135 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Mistral Small 3 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Small 3 is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.6 for DeepSeek V3.1, saving $0.52 (85.1% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Mistral Small 3 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Mistral Small 3 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | DeepSeek V3.1 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) can replace DeepSeek V3.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash can replace DeepSeek V3.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.2.
- R1 Distill Qwen 32B can replace DeepSeek V3.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.43.
- DeepSeek V3.2 can replace DeepSeek V3.1 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.44.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
- Gemini 2.5 Flash Lite offers 1.05M context with $0.3 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
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Mistral Small 3 is a 24B-parameter language model optimized for low-latency performance across common AI tasks. Released under the Apache 2.0 license, it features both pre-trained and instruction-tuned versions designed...