API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewMistral Medium 3.5 vs Gemini 2.5 Pro

Pick Mistral Medium 3.5 for lower cost; pick Gemini 2.5 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Mistral Medium 3.5 for lower cost; pick Gemini 2.5 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Medium 3.5 is estimated at $5.25 vs $6.25 for Gemini 2.5 Pro, saving $1 (16% lower).

Cost-first pickMistral Medium 3.5
Context-first pickGemini 2.5 Pro
Sample savings$116%
10x traffic gap$10

Gemini 2.5 Pro has more context, but Mistral Medium 3.5 saves $1 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $10. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Cost winner changes by workload shape: input-heavy / RAG favors Tie, balanced workload favors Mistral Medium 3.5, and output-heavy chatbot favors Mistral Medium 3.5.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickMistral Medium 3.5Gemini 2.5 Pro
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputTie$11.25$11.25
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputMistral Medium 3.5$9$11.25
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputMistral Medium 3.5$39$51.25
Cheaper input Gemini 2.5 Pro $1.5 vs $1.25 / 1M

Gemini 2.5 Pro is $0.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (16.7% lower; 1.2x difference).

Cheaper output Mistral Medium 3.5 $7.5 vs $10 / 1M

Mistral Medium 3.5 is $2.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).

Larger context Gemini 2.5 Pro 262.14K vs 1.05M

Gemini 2.5 Pro has 786.43K more context (4x larger).

Sample workload Mistral Medium 3.5 $5.25 vs $6.25

Mistral Medium 3.5 is $1 cheaper on the standard workload (16% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Mistral Medium 3.5 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Gemini 2.5 Pro Calculating… Estimated API cost
Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

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

Verdict

Gemini 2.5 Pro has the lower input price; Mistral Medium 3.5 has the lower output price; Gemini 2.5 Pro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Mistral Medium 3.5 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5 and $6.25 for Gemini 2.5 Pro.

Best Fit

Choose Mistral Medium 3.5 when you care most about lower output-token price.

Choose Gemini 2.5 Pro when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Medium 3.5 is estimated at $5.25 vs $6.25 for Gemini 2.5 Pro, saving $1 (16% lower).
  • Mistral Medium 3.5 is $1 cheaper on the standard workload (16% lower).
  • Gemini 2.5 Pro is $0.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (16.7% lower; 1.2x difference).
  • Mistral Medium 3.5 is $2.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
  • Gemini 2.5 Pro has 786.43K more context (4x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewMistral Medium 3.5
(Mistral)
Gemini 2.5 Pro
(Google)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$1.5$1.25
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$7.5$10
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$5.25$6.25
Context Window262.14K1.05M
Release Date
Popularity#47#55

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionMistral Medium 3.5On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Medium 3.5 is estimated at $5.25 vs $6.25 for Gemini 2.5 Pro, saving $1 (16% lower).
High-volume input processingGemini 2.5 ProLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsMistral Medium 3.5Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGemini 2.5 ProA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • Mistral Nemo can replace Mistral Medium 3.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.04.
  • Mistral Small 3 can replace Mistral Medium 3.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
  • Ministral 3 3B 2512 can replace Mistral Medium 3.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.15.
  • Mistral Small 3.2 24B can replace Mistral Medium 3.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.17.
Larger context near this budget

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Mistral catalog

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Google catalog

Check other Google models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

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Mistral Medium 3.5

Mistral Medium 3.5 is a dense 128B instruction-following model from Mistral AI. It supports text and image inputs with text output, and is designed for agentic workflows, coding, and complex...

Gemini 2.5 Pro

Gemini 2.5 Pro is Google’s state-of-the-art AI model designed for advanced reasoning, coding, mathematics, and scientific tasks. It employs “thinking” capabilities, enabling it to reason through responses with enhanced accuracy...