Model Comparison

GPT-5.6 Luna vs Mistral Small 3 24B BaseWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: GPT-5.6 Luna vs Mistral Small 3 24B Base — which is better?

GPT-5.6 Luna (by OpenAI) 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.

GPT-5.6 Luna outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Mistral Small 3 24B Base is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose GPT-5.6 Luna if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Mistral Small 3 24B Base if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

GPT-5.6 Luna outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Mistral Small 3 24B Base is better at 0 benchmarks.

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jul 19 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only GPT-5.6 Luna specifies input context (1,050,000 tokens). Only GPT-5.6 Luna specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Input1,050,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3 24B Base
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jul 19 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both GPT-5.6 Luna and Mistral Small 3 24B Base support multimodal inputs.

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

GPT-5.6 Luna

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Small 3 24B Base

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-5.6 Luna is licensed under a proprietary license, 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.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Proprietary

Closed source

Mistral Small 3 24B Base

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

GPT-5.6 Luna was released on 2026-07-09, while Mistral Small 3 24B Base was released on 2025-01-30.

GPT-5.6 Luna is 18 months newer than Mistral Small 3 24B Base.

GPT-5.6 Luna

Jul 9, 2026

1 weeks ago

1.4yr newer
Mistral Small 3 24B Base

Jan 30, 2025

1.5 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

GPT-5.6 Luna has a knowledge cutoff of 2026-02-16, while Mistral Small 3 24B Base has a cutoff of 2023-10-01.

GPT-5.6 Luna has more recent training data (up to 2026-02-16), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Mistral Small 3 24B Base (2023-10-01).

GPT-5.6 Luna

Feb 2026

2.3 yr newer
Mistral Small 3 24B Base

Oct 2023

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (1,050,000 tokens)
Higher GPQA score (92.3% vs 34.4%)
Mistral AI
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against GPT-5.6 Luna and Mistral Small 3 24B Base side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

GPT-5.6 Luna
✓ Preferred
Mistral Small 3 24B Base
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Luna
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3 24B Base

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-5.6 Luna vs Mistral Small 3 24B Base.

Which is better, GPT-5.6 Luna or Mistral Small 3 24B Base?

GPT-5.6 Luna significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Luna is made by OpenAI 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 GPT-5.6 Luna compare to Mistral Small 3 24B Base in benchmarks?

GPT-5.6 Luna scores Connectors: 99.9%, HealthBench Consensus: 95.1%, GPQA: 92.3%, Search and Function-Calling: 89.7%, Capture-the-Flag Challenges (Internal): 85.2%. 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 GPT-5.6 Luna and Mistral Small 3 24B Base?

GPT-5.6 Luna supports 1.1M 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 GPT-5.6 Luna and Mistral Small 3 24B Base?

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

Who makes GPT-5.6 Luna and Mistral Small 3 24B Base?

GPT-5.6 Luna is developed by OpenAI and Mistral Small 3 24B Base is developed by Mistral AI.

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