Model Comparison

GPT-4o mini vs Mistral Small 3.1 24B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-4o mini has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Verdict: GPT-4o mini vs Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct — which is better?

GPT-4o mini (by OpenAI) and Mistral Small 3.1 24B 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.

GPT-4o mini outperforms in 3 benchmarks (MATH, MMLU, MMMU), while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval). GPT-4o mini has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Choose GPT-4o mini if…

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

Choose Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

GPT-4o mini outperforms in 3 benchmarks (MATH, MMLU, MMMU), while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, HumanEval).

GPT-4o mini has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Tue Jul 28 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-4o mini specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only GPT-4o mini specifies output context (16,384 tokens).

OpenAI
GPT-4o mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output16,384 tokens
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Tue Jul 28 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both GPT-4o mini and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct support multimodal inputs.

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

GPT-4o mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-4o mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

GPT-4o mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-4o mini was released on 2024-07-18, while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct was released on 2025-03-17.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is 8 months newer than GPT-4o mini.

GPT-4o mini

Jul 18, 2024

2.0 years ago

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

Mar 17, 2025

1.4 years ago

8mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-4o mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-10-01, while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm GPT-4o mini's training data extends to 2023-10-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct's cutoff date.

GPT-4o mini

Oct 2023

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

—

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (128,000 tokens)
Higher MATH score (70.2% vs 69.3%)
Higher MMLU score (82.0% vs 80.6%)
Higher MMMU score (59.4% vs 59.3%)
Mistral AI
Has open weights
Higher GPQA score (46.0% vs 40.2%)
Higher HumanEval score (88.4% vs 87.2%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GPT-4o mini and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GPT-4o mini
✓ Preferred
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-4o mini
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-4o mini vs Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct.

Which is better, GPT-4o mini or Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct?

GPT-4o mini has a slight edge in benchmark performance. GPT-4o mini is made by OpenAI and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is made by Mistral AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does GPT-4o mini compare to Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct in benchmarks?

GPT-4o mini scores HumanEval: 87.2%, MGSM: 87.0%, MMLU: 82.0%, DROP: 79.7%, MATH: 70.2%. Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct scores HumanEval: 88.4%, MMLU: 80.6%, TriviaQA: 80.5%, MBPP: 74.7%, MATH: 69.3%.

What are the context window sizes for GPT-4o mini and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct?

GPT-4o mini supports 128K tokens and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct 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 GPT-4o mini and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct?

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

Who makes GPT-4o mini and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct?

GPT-4o mini is developed by OpenAI and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is developed by Mistral AI.

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