Model Comparison

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed vs Ministral 8B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks. Ministral 8B Instruct is 250.0x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Gemma 3n E4B Instructed vs Ministral 8B Instruct — which is better?

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed (by Google) and Ministral 8B 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.

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HumanEval), while Ministral 8B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (MMLU). Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.

On price, Ministral 8B Instruct is roughly 250.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Ministral 8B Instruct also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Gemma 3n E4B Instructed if…

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

Choose Ministral 8B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 250.0x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed outperforms in 1 benchmarks (HumanEval), while Ministral 8B Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (MMLU).

Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.

Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Ministral 8B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Gemma 3n E4B Instructed ($20.00/1M tokens) is 200.0x more expensive than Ministral 8B Instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, Gemma 3n E4B Instructed ($40.00/1M tokens) is 400.0x more expensive than Ministral 8B Instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is more expensive than Ministral 8B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com
Google
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
Input tokens$20.00
Output tokens$40.00
Best providerTogether
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

19.8M diff

Ministral 8B Instruct has 0.0B more parameters than Gemma 3n E4B Instructed, making it 0.2% larger.

Google
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
8.0Bparameters
Mistral AI
Ministral 8B Instruct
8.0Bparameters
8.0B
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
8.0B
Ministral 8B Instruct

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Ministral 8B Instruct accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to Gemma 3n E4B Instructed's 32,000 tokens. Ministral 8B Instruct can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is limited to 32,000 tokens.

Google
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
Input32,000 tokens
Output32,000 tokens
Mistral AI
Ministral 8B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed supports multimodal inputs, whereas Ministral 8B Instruct does not.

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Ministral 8B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is licensed under a proprietary license, while Ministral 8B Instruct uses Mistral Research License.

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

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed

Proprietary

Closed source

Ministral 8B Instruct

Mistral Research License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed was released on 2025-06-26, while Ministral 8B Instruct was released on 2024-10-16.

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is 8 months newer than Ministral 8B Instruct.

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed

Jun 26, 2025

1.1 years ago

8mo newer
Ministral 8B Instruct

Oct 16, 2024

1.8 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Ministral 8B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Gemma 3n E4B Instructed's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Ministral 8B Instruct's cutoff date.

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed

Jun 2024

Ministral 8B Instruct

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Provider Availability

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is available from Together. Ministral 8B Instruct is available from Mistral AI.

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed

together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $20.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $40.00/1M

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→

Key Takeaways

Google
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher HumanEval score (75.0% vs 34.8%)
Mistral AI
Larger context window (128,000 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
Higher MMLU score (65.0% vs 64.9%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Gemma 3n E4B Instructed and Ministral 8B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
✓ Preferred
Ministral 8B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Google
Gemma 3n E4B Instructed
Mistral AI
Ministral 8B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Gemma 3n E4B Instructed vs Ministral 8B Instruct.

Which is better, Gemma 3n E4B Instructed or Ministral 8B Instruct?

Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks. Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is made by Google and Ministral 8B Instruct is made by Mistral AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Gemma 3n E4B Instructed compare to Ministral 8B Instruct in benchmarks?

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed scores HumanEval: 75.0%, MGSM: 67.0%, MMLU: 64.9%, Global-MMLU-Lite: 64.5%, MBPP: 63.6%. 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 Gemma 3n E4B Instructed cheaper than Ministral 8B Instruct?

Ministral 8B Instruct is 200.0x cheaper for input tokens. Gemma 3n E4B Instructed costs $20.00/M input and $40.00/M output via together. Ministral 8B Instruct costs $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output via mistral.

What are the context window sizes for Gemma 3n E4B Instructed and Ministral 8B Instruct?

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed supports 32K 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 Gemma 3n E4B Instructed and Ministral 8B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (32K vs 128K), input pricing ($20.00 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Mistral Research License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Gemma 3n E4B Instructed and Ministral 8B Instruct?

Gemma 3n E4B Instructed is developed by Google and Ministral 8B Instruct is developed by Mistral AI.

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