Model Comparison

Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Mistral Small 4Which is better in 2026?

Comparing Gemini 3.6 Flash and Mistral Small 4 across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Mistral Small 4 — which is better?

Gemini 3.6 Flash (by Google) and Mistral Small 4 (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.

On price, Mistral Small 4 is roughly 11.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Gemini 3.6 Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Gemini 3.6 Flash if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Mistral Small 4 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 11.4x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Gemini 3.6 Flash and Mistral Small 4don'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

Mistral Small 4 costs less

For input processing, Gemini 3.6 Flash ($1.50/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than Mistral Small 4 ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemini 3.6 Flash ($7.50/1M tokens) is 12.5x more expensive than Mistral Small 4 ($0.60/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemini 3.6 Flash is more expensive than Mistral Small 4.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemini 3.6 Flash
Input tokens$1.50
Output tokens$7.50
Best providerGoogle
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 4
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerMistral
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Gemini 3.6 Flash accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Mistral Small 4's 256,000 tokens. Mistral Small 4 can generate longer responses up to 256,000 tokens, while Gemini 3.6 Flash is limited to 65,536 tokens.

Google
Gemini 3.6 Flash
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 4
Input256,000 tokens
Output256,000 tokens
Mon Jul 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Gemini 3.6 Flash and Mistral Small 4 support multimodal inputs.

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

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Small 4

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemini 3.6 Flash is licensed under a proprietary license, while Mistral Small 4 uses Apache 2.0.

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

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Mistral Small 4

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemini 3.6 Flash was released on 2026-07-21, while Mistral Small 4 was released on 2026-03-16.

Gemini 3.6 Flash is 4 months newer than Mistral Small 4.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Jul 21, 2026

4 days ago

4mo newer
Mistral Small 4

Mar 16, 2026

4 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemini 3.6 Flash has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2026-03-31, while Mistral Small 4's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemini 3.6 Flash's training data extends to 2026-03-31, but cannot make a direct comparison without Mistral Small 4's cutoff date.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

Mar 2026

Mistral Small 4

—

Provider Availability

Gemini 3.6 Flash is available from Google. Mistral Small 4 is available from Mistral AI.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

google logo
Google
Input Price:Input: $1.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $7.50/1M

Mistral Small 4

mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Mistral AI
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemini 3.6 Flash and Mistral Small 4 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemini 3.6 Flash
✓ Preferred
Mistral Small 4
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemini 3.6 Flash
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 4

FAQ

Common questions about Gemini 3.6 Flash vs Mistral Small 4.

Which is better, Gemini 3.6 Flash or Mistral Small 4?

Gemini 3.6 Flash (Google) and Mistral Small 4 (Mistral AI) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Gemini 3.6 Flash compare to Mistral Small 4 in benchmarks?

Gemini 3.6 Flash scores CharXiv-R: 89.4%, OSWorld-Verified: 83.0%, Terminal-Bench 2.1: 78.0%, MLE-Bench: 63.9%, SWE-Bench Pro: 58.7%. Mistral Small 4 scores AIME 2025: 83.8%, MMLU-Pro: 78.0%, AA-LCR: 71.2%, GPQA: 71.2%, LiveCodeBench: 63.6%.

Is Gemini 3.6 Flash cheaper than Mistral Small 4?

Mistral Small 4 is 10.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemini 3.6 Flash costs $1.50/M input and $7.50/M output via google. Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15/M input and $0.60/M output via mistral.

What are the context window sizes for Gemini 3.6 Flash and Mistral Small 4?

Gemini 3.6 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Mistral Small 4 supports 256K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Gemini 3.6 Flash and Mistral Small 4?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 256K), input pricing ($1.50 vs $0.15/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemini 3.6 Flash and Mistral Small 4?

Gemini 3.6 Flash is developed by Google and Mistral Small 4 is developed by Mistral AI.

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