API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewMistral Medium 3.5 vs Llama Guard 4 12B

Pick Llama Guard 4 12B for lower cost; pick Mistral Medium 3.5 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 Llama Guard 4 12B for lower cost; pick Mistral Medium 3.5 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama Guard 4 12B is estimated at $0.27 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $4.98 (94.9% lower).

Cost-first pickLlama Guard 4 12B
Context-first pickMistral Medium 3.5
Sample savings$4.9894.9%
10x traffic gap$49.8

Mistral Medium 3.5 has more context, but Llama Guard 4 12B saves $4.98 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $49.8. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Llama Guard 4 12B stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickMistral Medium 3.5Llama Guard 4 12B
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputLlama Guard 4 12B$11.25$0.99
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputLlama Guard 4 12B$9$0.36
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputLlama Guard 4 12B$39$1.08
Cheaper input Llama Guard 4 12B $1.5 vs $0.18 / 1M

Llama Guard 4 12B is $1.32 cheaper per 1M input tokens (88% lower; 8.33x difference).

Cheaper output Llama Guard 4 12B $7.5 vs $0.18 / 1M

Llama Guard 4 12B is $7.32 cheaper per 1M output tokens (97.6% lower; 41.7x difference).

Larger context Mistral Medium 3.5 262.14K vs 163.84K

Mistral Medium 3.5 has 98.3K more context (1.6x larger).

Sample workload Llama Guard 4 12B $5.25 vs $0.27

Llama Guard 4 12B is $4.98 cheaper on the standard workload (94.9% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Mistral Medium 3.5 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Llama Guard 4 12B 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

Llama Guard 4 12B has the lower input price; Llama Guard 4 12B has the lower output price; Mistral Medium 3.5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Llama Guard 4 12B 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 $0.27 for Llama Guard 4 12B.

Best Fit

Choose Mistral Medium 3.5 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Llama Guard 4 12B when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama Guard 4 12B is estimated at $0.27 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $4.98 (94.9% lower).
  • Llama Guard 4 12B is $4.98 cheaper on the standard workload (94.9% lower).
  • Llama Guard 4 12B is $1.32 cheaper per 1M input tokens (88% lower; 8.33x difference).
  • Llama Guard 4 12B is $7.32 cheaper per 1M output tokens (97.6% lower; 41.7x difference).
  • Mistral Medium 3.5 has 98.3K more context (1.6x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewMistral Medium 3.5
(Mistral)		Llama Guard 4 12B
(Meta)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$1.5$0.18
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$7.5$0.18
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$5.25$0.27
Context Window262.14K163.84K
Release Date
Popularity#77#146

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionLlama Guard 4 12BOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama Guard 4 12B is estimated at $0.27 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $4.98 (94.9% lower).
High-volume input processingLlama Guard 4 12BLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsLlama Guard 4 12BLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workMistral Medium 3.5A 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.
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Meta catalog

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