API cost decision in 10 seconds

Mistral Small 3 vs Nova Micro 1.0

Pick Mistral Small 3 for lower cost; pick Nova Micro 1.0 only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-05-26T15:08:08Z Data confirmed: 2026-05-26T18:08:02Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Mistral Small 3 for lower cost; pick Nova Micro 1.0 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Small 3 is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.11 for Nova Micro 1.0, saving $0.02 (14.3% lower).

Cost-first pickMistral Small 3

Context-first pickNova Micro 1.0

Sample savings$0.0214.3%

10x traffic gap$0.15

Nova Micro 1.0 has more context, but Mistral Small 3 saves $0.02 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $0.15. 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 Nova Micro 1.0, balanced workload favors Mistral Small 3, and output-heavy chatbot favors Mistral Small 3.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Mistral Small 3	Nova Micro 1.0
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Nova Micro 1.0	$0.29	$0.25
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Mistral Small 3	$0.13	$0.18
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Mistral Small 3	$0.45	$0.74

Cheaper input Nova Micro 1.0 $0.05 vs $0.035 / 1M

Nova Micro 1.0 is $0.01 cheaper per 1M input tokens (30% lower; 1.43x difference).

Cheaper output Mistral Small 3 $0.08 vs $0.14 / 1M

Mistral Small 3 is $0.06 cheaper per 1M output tokens (42.9% lower; 1.75x difference).

Larger context Nova Micro 1.0 32.77K vs 128K

Nova Micro 1.0 has 95.23K more context (3.91x larger).

Sample workload Mistral Small 3 $0.09 vs $0.11

Mistral Small 3 is $0.02 cheaper on the standard workload (14.3% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Mistral Small 3 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Nova Micro 1.0 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

Nova Micro 1.0 has the lower input price; Mistral Small 3 has the lower output price; Nova Micro 1.0 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Mistral Small 3 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.09 for Mistral Small 3 and $0.11 for Nova Micro 1.0.

Best Fit

Choose Mistral Small 3 when you care most about lower output-token price.

Choose Nova Micro 1.0 when you care most about lower input-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Small 3 is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.11 for Nova Micro 1.0, saving $0.02 (14.3% lower).
Mistral Small 3 is $0.02 cheaper on the standard workload (14.3% lower).
Nova Micro 1.0 is $0.01 cheaper per 1M input tokens (30% lower; 1.43x difference).
Mistral Small 3 is $0.06 cheaper per 1M output tokens (42.9% lower; 1.75x difference).
Nova Micro 1.0 has 95.23K more context (3.91x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	Mistral Small 3 (Mistral)	Nova Micro 1.0 (Amazon)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.05	$0.035
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$0.08	$0.14
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.09	$0.11
Context Window	32.77K	128K
Release Date	2025-01-30	2024-12-05
Popularity	#135	#146

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Mistral Small 3	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Small 3 is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.11 for Nova Micro 1.0, saving $0.02 (14.3% lower).
High-volume input processing	Nova Micro 1.0	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Mistral Small 3	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Nova Micro 1.0	A 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 Small 3 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.04.

Larger context near this budget

Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash (free) offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
Lyria 3 Clip Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
Lyria 3 Pro Preview offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

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Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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

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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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Amazon catalog

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

Open Amazon models

Mistral Small 3

Mistral Small 3 is a 24B-parameter language model optimized for low-latency performance across common AI tasks. Released under the Apache 2.0 license, it features both pre-trained and instruction-tuned versions designed...

Nova Micro 1.0

Amazon Nova Micro 1.0 is a text-only model that delivers the lowest latency responses in the Amazon Nova family of models at a very low cost. With a context length...