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DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

DeepSeek R1 Zero leads the LLM Stats Score 16.0 to 4.2.

DeepSeek · Mistral AI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek R1 Zero leads the overall LLM Stats Score 16.0 to 4.2, ranking #226 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 16.0 and ranks #226 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 3.1 24B Instruct

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

DeepSeek R1 Zero
DeepSeek
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
Mistral AI
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
16.0
#226
4.2
#302
Reasoning
16.3
#216
4.2
#296
Coding
4.3
#209
9.7
#170
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
1 of 1
0 of 1
Input price
— / M
— / M
Output price
— / M
— / M
Context window
—
—

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

1 shared
Index
DeepSeek R1 Zero
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
Math
17.5#194
7.9#261
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

4 reported for DeepSeek R1 Zero · 9 for Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

1 shared

DeepSeek R1 Zero outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

DeepSeek R1 Zero significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Sep 16 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

647.0B diff

DeepSeek R1 Zero has 647.0B more parameters than Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct, making it 2695.8% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Zero
671.0Bparameters
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
24.0Bparameters
671.0B
DeepSeek R1 Zero
24.0B
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek R1 Zero does not.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

DeepSeek R1 Zero

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek R1 Zero is licensed under MIT, while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

DeepSeek R1 Zero

MIT

Open weights

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek R1 Zero was released on 2025-01-20, while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct was released on 2025-03-17.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is 2 months newer than DeepSeek R1 Zero.

DeepSeek R1 Zero

Jan 20, 2025

1.7 years ago

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

Mar 17, 2025

1.5 years ago

1mo newer

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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Zero and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek R1 Zero
✓ Preferred
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Zero vs Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct.

Which is better, DeepSeek R1 Zero or Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct?

DeepSeek R1 Zero leads the LLM Stats Score 16.0 to 4.2. DeepSeek R1 Zero is made by DeepSeek and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is made by Mistral AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does DeepSeek R1 Zero compare to Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct in benchmarks?

DeepSeek R1 Zero scores MATH-500: 95.9%, AIME 2024: 86.7%, GPQA: 73.3%, LiveCodeBench: 50.0%. Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct scores HumanEval: 88.4%, MMLU: 80.6%, TriviaQA: 80.5%, MBPP: 74.7%, MATH: 69.3%.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek R1 Zero and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (16.0 vs 4.2), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (MIT vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek R1 Zero and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct?

DeepSeek R1 Zero is developed by DeepSeek and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is developed by Mistral AI.

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