Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 5 vs Mistral Medium 3.5Which is better in 2026?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Mistral Medium 3.5 is 2.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Sonnet 5 vs Mistral Medium 3.5 — which is better?

Claude Sonnet 5 (by Anthropic) and Mistral Medium 3.5 (by Mistral AI) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

Claude Sonnet 5 outperforms in 3 benchmarks (BrowseComp, GDPval-AA, SWE-Bench Verified), while Mistral Medium 3.5 is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Mistral Medium 3.5 is roughly 2.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Sonnet 5 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026

Choose Mistral Medium 3.5 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 2.0x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 5 outperforms in 3 benchmarks (BrowseComp, GDPval-AA, SWE-Bench Verified), while Mistral Medium 3.5 is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Mistral Medium 3.5 costs less

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than Mistral Medium 3.5 ($1.50/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than Mistral Medium 3.5 ($7.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 5 is more expensive than Mistral Medium 3.5.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
Mistral AI
Mistral Medium 3.5
Input tokens$1.50
Output tokens$7.50
Best providerMistral
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Sonnet 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Mistral Medium 3.5's 256,000 tokens. Mistral Medium 3.5 can generate longer responses up to 256,000 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Mistral AI
Mistral Medium 3.5
Input256,000 tokens
Output256,000 tokens
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Sonnet 5 and Mistral Medium 3.5 support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Claude Sonnet 5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Medium 3.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Sonnet 5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Mistral Medium 3.5 uses Modified MIT License.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Claude Sonnet 5

Proprietary

Closed source

Mistral Medium 3.5

Modified MIT License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 5 was released on 2026-06-30, while Mistral Medium 3.5 was released on 2026-04-29.

Claude Sonnet 5 is 2 months newer than Mistral Medium 3.5.

Claude Sonnet 5

Jun 30, 2026

2 weeks ago

2mo newer
Mistral Medium 3.5

Apr 29, 2026

2 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic. Mistral Medium 3.5 is available from Mistral AI.

Claude Sonnet 5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Mistral Medium 3.5

mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $1.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $7.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Higher BrowseComp score (84.7% vs 48.6%)
Higher GDPval-AA score (53.9% vs 30.9%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (85.2% vs 77.6%)
Mistral AI
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Sonnet 5 and Mistral Medium 3.5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Sonnet 5
✓ Preferred
Mistral Medium 3.5
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Mistral AI
Mistral Medium 3.5

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 5 vs Mistral Medium 3.5.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 5 or Mistral Medium 3.5?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 5 is made by Anthropic and Mistral Medium 3.5 is made by Mistral AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Sonnet 5 compare to Mistral Medium 3.5 in benchmarks?

Claude Sonnet 5 scores CharXiv-R: 88.3%, ChartMuseum: 86.7%, SWE-Bench Verified: 85.2%, BrowseComp: 84.7%, GDP.pdf: 81.6%. Mistral Medium 3.5 scores COLLIE: 95.8%, Tau3 Telecom: 91.4%, AIME 2025: 86.3%, SWE-Bench Verified: 77.6%, Tau3 Retail: 76.1%.

Is Claude Sonnet 5 cheaper than Mistral Medium 3.5?

Mistral Medium 3.5 is 2.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 5 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. Mistral Medium 3.5 costs $1.50/M input and $7.50/M output via mistral.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 5 and Mistral Medium 3.5?

Claude Sonnet 5 supports 1.0M tokens and Mistral Medium 3.5 supports 256K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Sonnet 5 and Mistral Medium 3.5?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 256K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $1.50/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Modified MIT License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Sonnet 5 and Mistral Medium 3.5?

Claude Sonnet 5 is developed by Anthropic and Mistral Medium 3.5 is developed by Mistral AI.

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