o3 Mini is $0.4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (26.7% lower; 1.36x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
NewMistral Medium 3.5 vs o3 Mini
Pick o3 Mini for lower cost; pick Mistral Medium 3.5 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 o3 Mini 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, o3 Mini is estimated at $3.3 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $1.95 (37.1% lower).
Cost-first picko3 Mini
Context-first pickMistral Medium 3.5
Sample savings$1.9537.1%
10x traffic gap$19.5
Mistral Medium 3.5 has more context, but o3 Mini saves $1.95 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $19.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
o3 Mini stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Mistral Medium 3.5 | o3 Mini |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | o3 Mini | $11.25 | $7.7 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | o3 Mini | $9 | $5.5 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | o3 Mini | $39 | $23.1 |
o3 Mini is $3.1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (41.3% lower; 1.7x difference).
Mistral Medium 3.5 has 62.14K more context (1.31x larger).
o3 Mini is $1.95 cheaper on the standard workload (37.1% 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
o3 Mini has the lower input price; o3 Mini has the lower output price; Mistral Medium 3.5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, o3 Mini 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 $3.3 for o3 Mini.
Choose Mistral Medium 3.5 when you care most about larger context window.
Choose o3 Mini when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, o3 Mini is estimated at $3.3 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $1.95 (37.1% lower).
- o3 Mini is $1.95 cheaper on the standard workload (37.1% lower).
- o3 Mini is $0.4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (26.7% lower; 1.36x difference).
- o3 Mini is $3.1 cheaper per 1M output tokens (41.3% lower; 1.7x difference).
- Mistral Medium 3.5 has 62.14K more context (1.31x larger).
| Feature | NewMistral Medium 3.5 (Mistral) | o3 Mini (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $1.5 | $1.1 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $7.5 | $4.4 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $5.25 | $3.3 |
| Context Window | 262.14K | 200K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #47 | #120 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | o3 Mini | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, o3 Mini is estimated at $3.3 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $1.95 (37.1% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | o3 Mini | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | o3 Mini | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | Mistral Medium 3.5 | 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 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
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