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DeepSeek-V3 vs Ministral 8B Instruct

DeepSeek-V3 leads the LLM Stats Score 15.7 to -4.5. Ministral 8B Instruct is 4.8x cheaper per token.

DeepSeek · Mistral AI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek-V3 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 15.7 to -4.5, ranking #216 overall.

In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, DeepSeek-V3 wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

On price, Ministral 8B Instruct is roughly 4.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

DeepSeek-V3 also accepts a larger context window (131,072 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose DeepSeek-V3

  • overall performance matters — it scores 15.7 and ranks #216 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 131,072 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2024

Choose Ministral 8B Instruct

  • cost matters — it's about 4.8x cheaper per token

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

DeepSeek-V3
DeepSeek
Ministral 8B Instruct
Mistral AI
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
15.7
#216
-4.5
#339
Reasoning
14.8
#217
-4.6
#330
Coding
6.5
#184
-14.4
#258
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
1 of 1
0 of 1
Input price
$0.27 / M
$0.10 / M
Output price
$1.10 / M
$0.10 / M
Context window
131,072
128,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
DeepSeek-V3
Ministral 8B Instruct
Math
18.2#175
-3.7#307
Legal
20.1#64
-7.6#195
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

20 reported for DeepSeek-V3 · 11 for Ministral 8B Instruct

1 shared

DeepSeek-V3 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMLU), while Ministral 8B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.

DeepSeek-V3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Sep 05 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Ministral 8B Instruct costs less

For input processing, DeepSeek-V3 ($0.27/1M tokens) is 2.7x more expensive than Ministral 8B Instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, DeepSeek-V3 ($1.10/1M tokens) is 11.0x more expensive than Ministral 8B Instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, DeepSeek-V3 is more expensive than Ministral 8B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Sep 05 2026 • llm-stats.com
DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3
Input tokens$0.27
Output tokens$1.10
Best providerDeepSeek
Mistral AI
Ministral 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerMistral
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

663.0B diff

DeepSeek-V3 has 663.0B more parameters than Ministral 8B Instruct, making it 8266.8% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3
671.0Bparameters
Mistral AI
Ministral 8B Instruct
8.0Bparameters
671.0B
DeepSeek-V3
8.0B
Ministral 8B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

DeepSeek-V3 accepts 131,072 input tokens compared to Ministral 8B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. DeepSeek-V3 can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Ministral 8B Instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V3
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Mistral AI
Ministral 8B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Sat Sep 05 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek-V3 is licensed under MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed), while Ministral 8B Instruct uses Mistral Research License.

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

DeepSeek-V3

MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed)

Open weights

Ministral 8B Instruct

Mistral Research License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-V3 was released on 2024-12-25, while Ministral 8B Instruct was released on 2024-10-16.

DeepSeek-V3 is 2 months newer than Ministral 8B Instruct.

DeepSeek-V3

Dec 25, 2024

1.7 years ago

2mo newer
Ministral 8B Instruct

Oct 16, 2024

1.9 years 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

DeepSeek-V3 is available from DeepSeek. Ministral 8B Instruct is available from Mistral AI.

DeepSeek-V3

deepseek logo
DeepSeek
Input Price:Input: $0.27/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.10/1M

Ministral 8B Instruct

mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V3 and Ministral 8B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek-V3
✓ Preferred
Ministral 8B Instruct
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek-V3 vs Ministral 8B Instruct.

Which is better, DeepSeek-V3 or Ministral 8B Instruct?

DeepSeek-V3 leads the LLM Stats Score 15.7 to -4.5. DeepSeek-V3 is made by DeepSeek and Ministral 8B 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-V3 compare to Ministral 8B Instruct in benchmarks?

DeepSeek-V3 scores DROP: 91.6%, CLUEWSC: 90.9%, MATH-500: 90.2%, MMLU-Redux: 89.1%, MMLU: 88.5%. Ministral 8B Instruct scores MT-Bench: 83.0%, Winogrande: 75.3%, ARC-C: 71.9%, Arena Hard: 70.9%, MBPP pass@1: 70.0%.

Is DeepSeek-V3 cheaper than Ministral 8B Instruct?

Ministral 8B Instruct is 2.7x cheaper for input tokens. DeepSeek-V3 costs $0.27/M input and $1.10/M output via deepseek. Ministral 8B Instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via mistral.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek-V3 and Ministral 8B Instruct?

DeepSeek-V3 supports 131K tokens and Ministral 8B Instruct supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek-V3 and Ministral 8B Instruct?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (15.7 vs -4.5), context window (131K vs 128K), input pricing ($0.27 vs $0.10/M), licensing (MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed) vs Mistral Research License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek-V3 and Ministral 8B Instruct?

DeepSeek-V3 is developed by DeepSeek and Ministral 8B Instruct is developed by Mistral AI.

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