DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct
DeepSeek R1 Zero leads the LLM Stats Score 16.2 to 4.5.
DeepSeek · Mistral AI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
DeepSeek R1 Zero leads the overall LLM Stats Score 16.2 to 4.5, ranking #209 overall.
In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, DeepSeek R1 Zero wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose DeepSeek R1 Zero
- overall performance matters — it scores 16.2 and ranks #209 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
Choose Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
4 reported for DeepSeek R1 Zero · 8 for Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct
DeepSeek R1 Zero outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
DeepSeek R1 Zero significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
DeepSeek R1 Zero has 647.0B more parameters than Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct, making it 2695.8% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct specifies input context (32,000 tokens). Only Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct specifies output context (32,000 tokens).
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek R1 Zero is licensed under MIT, while Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek R1 Zero was released on 2025-01-20, while Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct was released on 2025-01-30.
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is 0 month newer than DeepSeek R1 Zero.
Jan 20, 2025
1.6 years ago
Jan 30, 2025
1.6 years ago
1w newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-10-01, while DeepSeek R1 Zero's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct's training data extends to 2023-10-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek R1 Zero's cutoff date.
—
Oct 2023
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Zero and Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct.