Model Comparison
Devstral Small 1.1 vs GPT-3.5 TurboWhich is better in 2026?
Comparing Devstral Small 1.1 and GPT-3.5 Turbo across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
Verdict: Devstral Small 1.1 vs GPT-3.5 Turbo — which is better?
Devstral Small 1.1 (by Mistral AI) and GPT-3.5 Turbo (by OpenAI) 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.
On price, Devstral Small 1.1 is roughly 5.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Devstral Small 1.1 also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Devstral Small 1.1 if…
- cost matters — it's about 5.0x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose GPT-3.5 Turbo if…
- you want predictable pricing at $0.50/M input and $1.50/M output
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Devstral Small 1.1 and GPT-3.5 Turbo don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Devstral Small 1.1 ($0.10/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo ($0.50/1M tokens).
For output processing, Devstral Small 1.1 ($0.30/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than GPT-3.5 Turbo ($1.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, GPT-3.5 Turbo is more expensive than Devstral Small 1.1.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Devstral Small 1.1 accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo's 16,385 tokens. Devstral Small 1.1 can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while GPT-3.5 Turbo is limited to 4,096 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
Devstral Small 1.1 is licensed under Apache 2.0, while GPT-3.5 Turbo uses a proprietary license.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Devstral Small 1.1 was released on 2025-07-11, while GPT-3.5 Turbo was released on 2023-03-21.
Devstral Small 1.1 is 28 months newer than GPT-3.5 Turbo.
Jul 11, 2025
11 months ago
2.3yr newerMar 21, 2023
3.2 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-3.5 Turbo has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2021-09-30, while Devstral Small 1.1's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm GPT-3.5 Turbo's training data extends to 2021-09-30, but cannot make a direct comparison without Devstral Small 1.1's cutoff date.
—
Sep 2021
Provider Availability
Devstral Small 1.1 is available from Mistral AI. GPT-3.5 Turbo is available from Azure, OpenAI.
Devstral Small 1.1
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Devstral Small 1.1
View detailsMistral AI
No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Devstral Small 1.1 vs GPT-3.5 Turbo.