Model Comparison

DeepSeek VL2 vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: DeepSeek VL2 vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct — which is better?

DeepSeek VL2 (by DeepSeek) and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct (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.

DeepSeek VL2 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (AI2D, ChartQA, DocVQA, MathVista, MMMU). Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose DeepSeek VL2 if…

  • you are already invested in the DeepSeek ecosystem

Choose Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 5 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2025
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

DeepSeek VL2 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct is better at 5 benchmarks (AI2D, ChartQA, DocVQA, MathVista, MMMU).

Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

3.4B diff

DeepSeek VL2 has 3.4B more parameters than Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct, making it 14.4% larger.

DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2
27.0Bparameters
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct
23.6Bparameters
27.0B
DeepSeek VL2
23.6B
Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only DeepSeek VL2 specifies input context (129,280 tokens). Only DeepSeek VL2 specifies output context (129,280 tokens).

DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2
Input129,280 tokens
Output129,280 tokens
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both DeepSeek VL2 and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct support multimodal inputs.

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

DeepSeek VL2

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek VL2 is licensed under deepseek, while Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

DeepSeek VL2

deepseek

Open weights

Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek VL2 was released on 2024-12-13, while Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct was released on 2025-06-20.

Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct is 6 months newer than DeepSeek VL2.

DeepSeek VL2

Dec 13, 2024

1.5 years ago

Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct

Jun 20, 2025

1.0 years ago

6mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-10-01, while DeepSeek VL2's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct's training data extends to 2023-10-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without DeepSeek VL2's cutoff date.

DeepSeek VL2

—

Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct

Oct 2023

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

DeepSeek
Larger context window (129,280 tokens)
Mistral AI
Higher AI2D score (92.9% vs 81.4%)
Higher ChartQA score (87.4% vs 86.0%)
Higher DocVQA score (94.9% vs 93.3%)
Higher MathVista score (67.1% vs 62.8%)
Higher MMMU score (62.5% vs 51.1%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek VL2
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek VL2 vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct.

Which is better, DeepSeek VL2 or Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct?

Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek VL2 is made by DeepSeek and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct is made by Mistral AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does DeepSeek VL2 compare to Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct in benchmarks?

DeepSeek VL2 scores DocVQA: 93.3%, ChartQA: 86.0%, TextVQA: 84.2%, AI2D: 81.4%, OCRBench: 81.1%. Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct scores DocVQA: 94.9%, AI2D: 92.9%, HumanEval Plus: 92.9%, ChartQA: 87.4%, IF: 84.8%.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek VL2 and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct?

DeepSeek VL2 supports 129K tokens and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek VL2 and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct?

Key differences include licensing (deepseek vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek VL2 and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct?

DeepSeek VL2 is developed by DeepSeek and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct is developed by Mistral AI.

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