Mistral Small 3 is $0.41 cheaper per 1M input tokens (89% lower; 9.1x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
Qwen3 235B A22B vs Mistral Small 3
Pick Mistral Small 3 for lower cost; pick Qwen3 235B A22B 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 Mistral Small 3 for lower cost; pick Qwen3 235B A22B 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 $1.36 for Qwen3 235B A22B, saving $1.27 (93.4% lower).
Cost-first pickMistral Small 3
Context-first pickQwen3 235B A22B
Sample savings$1.2793.4%
10x traffic gap$12.75
Qwen3 235B A22B has more context, but Mistral Small 3 saves $1.27 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $12.75. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
Mistral Small 3 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | Qwen3 235B A22B | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | Mistral Small 3 | $3.19 | $0.29 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | Mistral Small 3 | $2.27 | $0.13 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | Mistral Small 3 | $9.55 | $0.45 |
Mistral Small 3 is $1.74 cheaper per 1M output tokens (95.6% lower; 22.8x difference).
Qwen3 235B A22B has 98.3K more context (4x larger).
Mistral Small 3 is $1.27 cheaper on the standard workload (93.4% 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
Mistral Small 3 has the lower input price; Mistral Small 3 has the lower output price; Qwen3 235B A22B 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 $1.36 for Qwen3 235B A22B and $0.09 for Mistral Small 3.
Choose Qwen3 235B A22B 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.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Mistral Small 3 is estimated at $0.09 vs $1.36 for Qwen3 235B A22B, saving $1.27 (93.4% lower).
- Mistral Small 3 is $1.27 cheaper on the standard workload (93.4% lower).
- Mistral Small 3 is $0.41 cheaper per 1M input tokens (89% lower; 9.1x difference).
- Mistral Small 3 is $1.74 cheaper per 1M output tokens (95.6% lower; 22.8x difference).
- Qwen3 235B A22B has 98.3K more context (4x larger).
| Feature | Qwen3 235B A22B (Qwen) | Mistral Small 3 (Mistral) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.455 | $0.05 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.82 | $0.08 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $1.36 | $0.09 |
| Context Window | 131.07K | 32.77K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #131 | #135 |
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 $1.36 for Qwen3 235B A22B, saving $1.27 (93.4% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | Mistral Small 3 | 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 | Qwen3 235B A22B | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- Qwen3 Next 80B A3B Instruct (free) can replace Qwen3 235B A22B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen3 Coder 480B A35B (free) can replace Qwen3 235B A22B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- Qwen2.5 7B Instruct can replace Qwen3 235B A22B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.09.
- Qwen3.5-9B can replace Qwen3 235B A22B when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.11.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
- Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- Claude Opus 4.7 · Anthropic · #3
- Claude Sonnet 4.6 · Anthropic · #4
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsQwen catalog
Review all tracked Qwen models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open Qwen modelsMistral catalog
Check other Mistral models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Mistral modelsQwen3-235B-A22B is a 235B parameter mixture-of-experts (MoE) model developed by Qwen, activating 22B parameters per forward pass. It supports seamless switching between a "thinking" mode for complex reasoning, math, and...
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...