GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Pixtral Large
Pixtral Large leads the LLM Stats Score 11.8 to -9.4. GPT-3.5 Turbo is 4.0x cheaper per token.
OpenAI · Mistral AI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Pixtral Large leads the overall LLM Stats Score 11.8 to -9.4, ranking #262 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Pixtral Large wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
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.
Pixtral Large also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose GPT-3.5 Turbo
- cost matters — it's about 4.0x cheaper per token
Choose Pixtral Large
- overall performance matters — it scores 11.8 and ranks #262 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2024
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
8 reported for GPT-3.5 Turbo · 7 for Pixtral Large
GPT-3.5 Turbo outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Pixtral Large is better at 2 benchmarks (MathVista, MMMU).
Pixtral Large significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground 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 Pixtral Large ($2.00/1M tokens).
For output processing, GPT-3.5 Turbo ($1.50/1M tokens) is 4.0x cheaper than Pixtral Large ($6.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Pixtral Large 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
Pixtral Large accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to GPT-3.5 Turbo's 16,385 tokens. Pixtral Large can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while GPT-3.5 Turbo is limited to 4,096 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Pixtral Large supports multimodal inputs, whereas GPT-3.5 Turbo does not.
Pixtral Large can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Pixtral Large
License
Usage and distribution terms
GPT-3.5 Turbo is licensed under a proprietary license, while Pixtral Large uses Mistral Research License (MRL) for research; Mistral Commercial License for commercial use.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Mistral Research License (MRL) for research; Mistral Commercial License for commercial use
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
GPT-3.5 Turbo was released on 2023-03-21, while Pixtral Large was released on 2024-11-18.
Pixtral Large is 20 months newer than GPT-3.5 Turbo.
Mar 21, 2023
3.5 years ago
Nov 18, 2024
1.8 years ago
1.7yr newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
GPT-3.5 Turbo has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2021-09-30, while Pixtral Large'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 Pixtral Large's cutoff date.
Sep 2021
—
Provider Availability
GPT-3.5 Turbo is available from Azure, OpenAI. Pixtral Large is available from Mistral AI.
GPT-3.5 Turbo
Pixtral Large
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against GPT-3.5 Turbo and Pixtral Large side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about GPT-3.5 Turbo vs Pixtral Large.