Mistral Medium 3.5 is $0.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (14.3% lower; 1.17x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewMistral Medium 3.5 vs GPT-5.2-Codex
Pick Mistral Medium 3.5 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.2-Codex 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 Medium 3.5 for lower cost; pick GPT-5.2-Codex 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 $8.75 for GPT-5.2-Codex, saving $3.5 (40% lower).
Cost-first pickMistral Medium 3.5
Context-first pickGPT-5.2-Codex
Sample savings$3.540%
10x traffic gap$35
GPT-5.2-Codex has more context, but Mistral Medium 3.5 saves $3.5 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $35. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Mistral Medium 3.5 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Mistral Medium 3.5 | GPT-5.2-Codex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Mistral Medium 3.5 | $11.25 | $15.75 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Mistral Medium 3.5 | $9 | $15.75 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Mistral Medium 3.5 | $39 | $71.75 |
Mistral Medium 3.5 is $6.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (46.4% lower; 1.87x difference).
GPT-5.2-Codex has 137.86K more context (1.53x larger).
Mistral Medium 3.5 is $3.5 cheaper on the standard workload (40% 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 Medium 3.5 has the lower input price; Mistral Medium 3.5 has the lower output price; GPT-5.2-Codex 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 $8.75 for GPT-5.2-Codex.
Choose Mistral Medium 3.5 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
Choose GPT-5.2-Codex when you care most about larger context window.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Medium 3.5 is estimated at $5.25 vs $8.75 for GPT-5.2-Codex, saving $3.5 (40% lower).
- Mistral Medium 3.5 is $3.5 cheaper on the standard workload (40% lower).
- Mistral Medium 3.5 is $0.25 cheaper per 1M input tokens (14.3% lower; 1.17x difference).
- Mistral Medium 3.5 is $6.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (46.4% lower; 1.87x difference).
- GPT-5.2-Codex has 137.86K more context (1.53x larger).
| Feature | NewMistral Medium 3.5 (Mistral) | GPT-5.2-Codex (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1.5 | $1.75 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $7.5 | $14 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $5.25 | $8.75 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 400K |
| Release Date |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | Mistral Medium 3.5 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Medium 3.5 is estimated at $5.25 vs $8.75 for GPT-5.2-Codex, saving $3.5 (40% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Mistral Medium 3.5 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | Mistral Medium 3.5 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | GPT-5.2-Codex | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- 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.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- GPT-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.
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