API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewMistral Medium 3.5 vs gpt-oss-safeguard-20b

Pick gpt-oss-safeguard-20b 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 gpt-oss-safeguard-20b 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, gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is estimated at $0.22 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $5.03 (95.7% lower).

Cost-first pickgpt-oss-safeguard-20b
Context-first pickMistral Medium 3.5
Sample savings$5.0395.7%
10x traffic gap$50.25

Mistral Medium 3.5 has more context, but gpt-oss-safeguard-20b saves $5.03 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $50.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

gpt-oss-safeguard-20b stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickMistral Medium 3.5gpt-oss-safeguard-20b
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputgpt-oss-safeguard-20b$11.25$0.53
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputgpt-oss-safeguard-20b$9$0.38
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputgpt-oss-safeguard-20b$39$1.57
Cheaper input gpt-oss-safeguard-20b $1.5 vs $0.075 / 1M

gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is $1.43 cheaper per 1M input tokens (95% lower; 20x difference).

Cheaper output gpt-oss-safeguard-20b $7.5 vs $0.3 / 1M

gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is $7.2 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96% lower; 25x difference).

Larger context Mistral Medium 3.5 262.14K vs 131.07K

Mistral Medium 3.5 has 131.07K more context (2x larger).

Sample workload gpt-oss-safeguard-20b $5.25 vs $0.22

gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is $5.03 cheaper on the standard workload (95.7% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Mistral Medium 3.5 Calculating… Estimated API cost
gpt-oss-safeguard-20b 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

gpt-oss-safeguard-20b has the lower input price; gpt-oss-safeguard-20b has the lower output price; Mistral Medium 3.5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, gpt-oss-safeguard-20b 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 $0.22 for gpt-oss-safeguard-20b.

Best Fit

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

Choose gpt-oss-safeguard-20b 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, gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is estimated at $0.22 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $5.03 (95.7% lower).
  • gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is $5.03 cheaper on the standard workload (95.7% lower).
  • gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is $1.43 cheaper per 1M input tokens (95% lower; 20x difference).
  • gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is $7.2 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96% lower; 25x difference).
  • Mistral Medium 3.5 has 131.07K more context (2x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewMistral Medium 3.5
(Mistral)
gpt-oss-safeguard-20b
(OpenAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$1.5$0.075
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$7.5$0.3
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$5.25$0.22
Context Window262.14K131.07K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productiongpt-oss-safeguard-20bOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, gpt-oss-safeguard-20b is estimated at $0.22 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $5.03 (95.7% lower).
High-volume input processinggpt-oss-safeguard-20bLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsgpt-oss-safeguard-20bLower 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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