API cost decision in 10 seconds

Nemotron 3 Super vs Mistral Small 3

Pick Mistral Small 3 for lower cost; pick Nemotron 3 Super 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 Mistral Small 3 for lower cost; pick Nemotron 3 Super 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 $0.32 for Nemotron 3 Super, saving $0.23 (71.4% lower).

Cost-first pickMistral Small 3
Context-first pickNemotron 3 Super
Sample savings$0.2371.4%
10x traffic gap$2.25

Nemotron 3 Super has more context, but Mistral Small 3 saves $0.23 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $2.25. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Mistral Small 3 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickNemotron 3 SuperMistral Small 3
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputMistral Small 3$0.68$0.29
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputMistral Small 3$0.54$0.13
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputMistral Small 3$2.34$0.45
Cheaper input Mistral Small 3 $0.09 vs $0.05 / 1M

Mistral Small 3 is $0.04 cheaper per 1M input tokens (44.4% lower; 1.8x difference).

Cheaper output Mistral Small 3 $0.45 vs $0.08 / 1M

Mistral Small 3 is $0.37 cheaper per 1M output tokens (82.2% lower; 5.62x difference).

Larger context Nemotron 3 Super 1M vs 32.77K

Nemotron 3 Super has 967.23K more context (30.5x larger).

Sample workload Mistral Small 3 $0.32 vs $0.09

Mistral Small 3 is $0.23 cheaper on the standard workload (71.4% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Nemotron 3 Super Calculating… Estimated API cost
Mistral Small 3 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 Small 3 has the lower input price; Mistral Small 3 has the lower output price; Nemotron 3 Super 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 $0.32 for Nemotron 3 Super and $0.09 for Mistral Small 3.

Best Fit

Choose Nemotron 3 Super when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Mistral Small 3 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, Mistral Small 3 is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.32 for Nemotron 3 Super, saving $0.23 (71.4% lower).
  • Mistral Small 3 is $0.23 cheaper on the standard workload (71.4% lower).
  • Mistral Small 3 is $0.04 cheaper per 1M input tokens (44.4% lower; 1.8x difference).
  • Mistral Small 3 is $0.37 cheaper per 1M output tokens (82.2% lower; 5.62x difference).
  • Nemotron 3 Super has 967.23K more context (30.5x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNemotron 3 Super
(NVIDIA)
Mistral Small 3
(Mistral)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.09$0.05
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$0.45$0.08
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$0.32$0.09
Context Window1M32.77K
Release Date
Popularity#99#135

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionMistral Small 3On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Small 3 is estimated at $0.09 vs $0.32 for Nemotron 3 Super, saving $0.23 (71.4% lower).
High-volume input processingMistral Small 3Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsMistral Small 3Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workNemotron 3 SuperA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

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Provider catalogs

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NVIDIA catalog

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Mistral catalog

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Open Mistral models
Nemotron 3 Super

NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Super is a 120B-parameter open hybrid MoE model, activating just 12B parameters for maximum compute efficiency and accuracy in complex multi-agent applications. Built on a hybrid Mamba-Transformer...

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...