GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Mistral Large 2
Mistral Large 2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-3.5 Turbo is 4.0x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Mistral AI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Mistral Large 2 is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU). Mistral Large 2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, GPT-3.5 Turbo is roughly 4.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Mistral Large 2 also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose GPT-3.5 Turbo
- cost matters — it's about 4.0x cheaper per token
Choose Mistral Large 2
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2024
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Mistral Large 2 is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU).
Mistral Large 2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, GPT-3.5 Turbo ($0.50/1M tokens) is 4.0x cheaper than Mistral Large 2 ($2.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-3.5 Turbo ($1.50/1M tokens) is 4.0x cheaper than Mistral Large 2 ($6.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Mistral Large 2 is more expensive than GPT-3.5 Turbo.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Mistral Large 2 accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo's 16,385 tokens. Mistral Large 2 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
GPT-3.5 Turbo is licensed under a proprietary license, while Mistral Large 2 uses Mistral Research License.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Mistral Research License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-3.5 Turbo was released on 2023-03-21, while Mistral Large 2 was released on 2024-07-24.
Mistral Large 2 is 16 months newer than GPT-3.5 Turbo.
Mar 21, 2023
3.4 years ago
Jul 24, 2024
2.1 years ago
1.3yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-3.5 Turbo has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2021-09-30, while Mistral Large 2'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 Mistral Large 2's cutoff date.
Sep 2021
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Provider Availability
GPT-3.5 Turbo is available from Azure, OpenAI. Mistral Large 2 is available from Google, Mistral AI.
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Mistral Large 2
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-3.5 Turbo and Mistral Large 2 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Mistral Large 2.