API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewMistral Medium 3.5 vs Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent

Pick Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent when budget and context both matter.

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

Budget verdict

Pick Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is estimated at $5 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $0.25 (4.8% lower).

Cost-first pickGrok 4.20 Multi-Agent
Context-first pickGrok 4.20 Multi-Agent
Sample savings$0.254.8%
10x traffic gap$2.5

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $2.5. 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 Mistral Medium 3.5, balanced workload favors Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent, and output-heavy chatbot favors Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickMistral Medium 3.5Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputMistral Medium 3.5$11.25$13
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputGrok 4.20 Multi-Agent$9$8
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputGrok 4.20 Multi-Agent$39$32
Cheaper input Mistral Medium 3.5 $1.5 vs $2 / 1M

Mistral Medium 3.5 is $0.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).

Cheaper output Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent $7.5 vs $6 / 1M

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is $1.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).

Larger context Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent 262.14K vs 2M

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent has 1.74M more context (7.63x larger).

Sample workload Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent $5.25 vs $5

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is $0.25 cheaper on the standard workload (4.8% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Mistral Medium 3.5 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent 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

Mistral Medium 3.5 has the lower input price; Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent has the lower output price; Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent 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 $5 for Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent.

Best Fit

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

Choose Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent when you care most about lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is estimated at $5 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $0.25 (4.8% lower).
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is $0.25 cheaper on the standard workload (4.8% lower).
  • Mistral Medium 3.5 is $0.5 cheaper per 1M input tokens (25% lower; 1.33x difference).
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is $1.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (20% lower; 1.25x difference).
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent has 1.74M more context (7.63x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNewMistral Medium 3.5
(Mistral)		Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent
(xAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M		$1.5$2
Completion Price
per 1M tokens		$7.5$6
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output		$5.25$5
Context Window262.14K2M
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionGrok 4.20 Multi-AgentOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is estimated at $5 vs $5.25 for Mistral Medium 3.5, saving $0.25 (4.8% lower).
High-volume input processingMistral Medium 3.5Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsGrok 4.20 Multi-AgentLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGrok 4.20 Multi-AgentA 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
  • Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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Mistral catalog

Review all tracked Mistral models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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xAI catalog

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

Open xAI models
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...

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent is a variant of xAI’s Grok 4.20 designed for collaborative, agent-based workflows. Multiple agents operate in parallel to conduct deep research, coordinate tool use, and synthesize information...