API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewGrok Build 0.1 vs Mistral Small 3

Pick Mistral Small 3 for lower cost; pick Grok Build 0.1 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 Grok Build 0.1 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 $2 for Grok Build 0.1, saving $1.91 (95.5% lower).

Cost-first pickMistral Small 3

Context-first pickGrok Build 0.1

Sample savings$1.9195.5%

10x traffic gap$19.1

Grok Build 0.1 has more context, but Mistral Small 3 saves $1.91 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $19.1. 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 shape	Token mix	Better pick	Grok Build 0.1	Mistral Small 3
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Mistral Small 3	$6	$0.29
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Mistral Small 3	$3	$0.13
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Mistral Small 3	$11	$0.45

Cheaper input Mistral Small 3 $1 vs $0.05 / 1M

Mistral Small 3 is $0.95 cheaper per 1M input tokens (95% lower; 20x difference).

Cheaper output Mistral Small 3 $2 vs $0.08 / 1M

Mistral Small 3 is $1.92 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96% lower; 25x difference).

Larger context Grok Build 0.1 256K vs 32.77K

Grok Build 0.1 has 223.23K more context (7.81x larger).

Sample workload Mistral Small 3 $2 vs $0.09

Mistral Small 3 is $1.91 cheaper on the standard workload (95.5% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Grok Build 0.1 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; Grok Build 0.1 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 $2 for Grok Build 0.1 and $0.09 for Mistral Small 3.

Best Fit

Choose Grok Build 0.1 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 $2 for Grok Build 0.1, saving $1.91 (95.5% lower).
Mistral Small 3 is $1.91 cheaper on the standard workload (95.5% lower).
Mistral Small 3 is $0.95 cheaper per 1M input tokens (95% lower; 20x difference).
Mistral Small 3 is $1.92 cheaper per 1M output tokens (96% lower; 25x difference).
Grok Build 0.1 has 223.23K more context (7.81x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewGrok Build 0.1 (xAI)	Mistral Small 3 (Mistral)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$1	$0.05
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$2	$0.08
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$2	$0.09
Context Window	256K	32.77K
Release Date	2026-05-20	2025-01-30
Popularity	#119	#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 $2 for Grok Build 0.1, saving $1.91 (95.5% 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	Grok Build 0.1	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

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 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.

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Provider catalogs

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xAI catalog

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Mistral catalog

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Grok Build 0.1

Grok Build 0.1 is xAI’s fast coding model trained specifically for agentic software engineering workflows. It supports text and image inputs with text output, and is optimized for interactive coding...

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...