Model Comparison

GPT-5.6 Terra vs Mistral Small 3 24B InstructWhich is better in 2026?

GPT-5.6 Terra significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is 64.3x cheaper per token.

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

GPT-5.6 Terra (by OpenAI) and Mistral Small 3 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-5.6 Terra outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. GPT-5.6 Terra significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is roughly 64.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

GPT-5.6 Terra also accepts a larger context window (1,050,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose GPT-5.6 Terra if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,050,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 64.3x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

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

GPT-5.6 Terra significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct costs less

For input processing, GPT-5.6 Terra ($2.50/1M tokens) is 35.7x more expensive than Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct ($0.07/1M tokens).

For output processing, GPT-5.6 Terra ($15.00/1M tokens) is 107.1x more expensive than Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct ($0.14/1M tokens).

In conclusion, GPT-5.6 Terra is more expensive than Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com
OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Terra
Input tokens$2.50
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerOpenAI
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct
Input tokens$0.07
Output tokens$0.14
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

GPT-5.6 Terra accepts 1,050,000 input tokens compared to Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct's 32,000 tokens. GPT-5.6 Terra can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is limited to 32,000 tokens.

OpenAI
GPT-5.6 Terra
Input1,050,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct
Input32,000 tokens
Output32,000 tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

GPT-5.6 Terra supports multimodal inputs, whereas Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct does not.

GPT-5.6 Terra can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

GPT-5.6 Terra

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

GPT-5.6 Terra is licensed under a proprietary license, while Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

GPT-5.6 Terra

Proprietary

Closed source

Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

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

GPT-5.6 Terra is 18 months newer than Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct.

GPT-5.6 Terra

Jul 9, 2026

2 weeks ago

1.4yr newer
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct

Jan 30, 2025

1.5 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

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

GPT-5.6 Terra 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 Instruct (2023-10-01).

GPT-5.6 Terra

Feb 2026

2.3 yr newer
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct

Oct 2023

Provider Availability

GPT-5.6 Terra is available from OpenAI. Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Mistral AI.

GPT-5.6 Terra

openai logo
OpenAI
Input Price:Input: $2.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.07/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.14/1M
mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.30/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

OpenAI
Larger context window (1,050,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (92.9% vs 45.3%)
Mistral AI
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

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

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

FAQ

Common questions about GPT-5.6 Terra vs Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct.

Which is better, GPT-5.6 Terra or Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct?

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

GPT-5.6 Terra scores Connectors: 100.0%, HealthBench Consensus: 95.1%, Search and Function-Calling: 94.6%, GPQA: 92.9%, Capture-the-Flag Challenges (Internal): 91.8%. Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct scores Arena Hard: 87.6%, HumanEval: 84.8%, MT-Bench: 83.5%, IFEval: 82.9%, MATH: 70.6%.

Is GPT-5.6 Terra cheaper than Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct?

Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is 35.7x cheaper for input tokens. GPT-5.6 Terra costs $2.50/M input and $15.00/M output via openai. Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct costs $0.07/M input and $0.14/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for GPT-5.6 Terra and Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct?

GPT-5.6 Terra supports 1.1M tokens and Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct supports 32K 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 Terra and Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct?

Key differences include context window (1.1M vs 32K), input pricing ($2.50 vs $0.07/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes GPT-5.6 Terra and Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct?

GPT-5.6 Terra is developed by OpenAI and Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is developed by Mistral AI.

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