Model Comparison

Gemma 3 4B vs Mistral Small 3 24B BaseWhich is better in 2026?

Mistral Small 3 24B Base has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Verdict: Gemma 3 4B vs Mistral Small 3 24B Base — which is better?

Gemma 3 4B (by Google) and Mistral Small 3 24B Base (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.

Gemma 3 4B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GSM8k, MATH), while Mistral Small 3 24B Base is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MBPP, MMLU-Pro). Mistral Small 3 24B Base has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Choose Gemma 3 4B if…

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

Choose Mistral Small 3 24B Base if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 5 shared benchmarks

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

Gemma 3 4B outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GSM8k, MATH), while Mistral Small 3 24B Base is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MBPP, MMLU-Pro).

Mistral Small 3 24B Base has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

19.6B diff

Mistral Small 3 24B Base has 19.6B more parameters than Gemma 3 4B, making it 490.0% larger.

Google
Gemma 3 4B
4.0Bparameters
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3 24B Base
23.6Bparameters
4.0B
Gemma 3 4B
23.6B
Mistral Small 3 24B Base

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Gemma 3 4B specifies input context (131,072 tokens). Only Gemma 3 4B specifies output context (131,072 tokens).

Google
Gemma 3 4B
Input131,072 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3 24B Base
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Gemma 3 4B and Mistral Small 3 24B Base support multimodal inputs.

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

Gemma 3 4B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Small 3 24B Base

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3 4B is licensed under Gemma, while Mistral Small 3 24B Base uses Apache 2.0.

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

Gemma 3 4B

Gemma

Open weights

Mistral Small 3 24B Base

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3 4B was released on 2025-03-12, while Mistral Small 3 24B Base was released on 2025-01-30.

Gemma 3 4B is 1 month newer than Mistral Small 3 24B Base.

Gemma 3 4B

Mar 12, 2025

1.4 years ago

1mo newer
Mistral Small 3 24B Base

Jan 30, 2025

1.5 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemma 3 4B has a knowledge cutoff of 2024-08-01, while Mistral Small 3 24B Base has a cutoff of 2023-10-01.

Gemma 3 4B has more recent training data (up to 2024-08-01), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Mistral Small 3 24B Base (2023-10-01).

Gemma 3 4B

Aug 2024

10 mo newer
Mistral Small 3 24B Base

Oct 2023

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Google
Larger context window (131,072 tokens)
Higher GSM8k score (89.2% vs 80.7%)
Higher MATH score (75.6% vs 46.0%)
Mistral AI
Higher GPQA score (34.4% vs 30.8%)
Higher MBPP score (69.6% vs 63.2%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (54.4% vs 43.6%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 3 4B and Mistral Small 3 24B Base side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 3 4B
✓ Preferred
Mistral Small 3 24B Base
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3 4B
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3 24B Base

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3 4B vs Mistral Small 3 24B Base.

Which is better, Gemma 3 4B or Mistral Small 3 24B Base?

Mistral Small 3 24B Base has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Gemma 3 4B is made by Google and Mistral Small 3 24B Base is made by Mistral AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 3 4B compare to Mistral Small 3 24B Base in benchmarks?

Gemma 3 4B scores IFEval: 90.2%, GSM8k: 89.2%, DocVQA: 75.8%, MATH: 75.6%, AI2D: 74.8%. Mistral Small 3 24B Base scores ARC-C: 91.3%, GSM8k: 80.7%, MMLU: 80.7%, TriviaQA: 80.3%, MBPP: 69.6%.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3 4B and Mistral Small 3 24B Base?

Gemma 3 4B supports 131K tokens and Mistral Small 3 24B Base 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 Gemma 3 4B and Mistral Small 3 24B Base?

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

Who makes Gemma 3 4B and Mistral Small 3 24B Base?

Gemma 3 4B is developed by Google and Mistral Small 3 24B Base is developed by Mistral AI.

Related comparisons