Model Comparison

Grok-3 Mini vs Pixtral-12B

Comparing Grok-3 Mini and Pixtral-12B across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Grok-3 Mini and Pixtral-12B don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Pixtral-12B costs less

For input processing, Grok-3 Mini ($0.30/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than Pixtral-12B ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok-3 Mini ($0.50/1M tokens) is 3.3x more expensive than Pixtral-12B ($0.15/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok-3 Mini is more expensive than Pixtral-12B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon May 25 2026 • llm-stats.com
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerxAI
Mistral AI
Pixtral-12B
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.15
Best providerMistral
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 128,000 tokens. Pixtral-12B can generate longer responses up to 8,192 tokens, while Grok-3 Mini is limited to 8,000 tokens.

xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Mistral AI
Pixtral-12B
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Mon May 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Grok-3 Mini and Pixtral-12B support multimodal inputs.

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

Grok-3 Mini

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Pixtral-12B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Grok-3 Mini is licensed under a proprietary license, while Pixtral-12B uses Apache 2.0.

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

Grok-3 Mini

Proprietary

Closed source

Pixtral-12B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-3 Mini was released on 2025-02-17, while Pixtral-12B was released on 2024-09-17.

Grok-3 Mini is 5 months newer than Pixtral-12B.

Grok-3 Mini

Feb 17, 2025

1.3 years ago

5mo newer
Pixtral-12B

Sep 17, 2024

1.7 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-3 Mini has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while Pixtral-12B's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-3 Mini's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without Pixtral-12B's cutoff date.

Grok-3 Mini

Nov 2024

Pixtral-12B

—

Provider Availability

Grok-3 Mini is available from xAI. Pixtral-12B is available from Mistral AI.

Grok-3 Mini

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M

Pixtral-12B

mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.15/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

xAI

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Mistral AI
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
xAIGrok-3 Mini
Mistral AIPixtral-12B
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok-3 Mini
Mistral AI
Pixtral-12B

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-3 Mini vs Pixtral-12B.

Which is better, Grok-3 Mini or Pixtral-12B?

Grok-3 Mini (xAI) and Pixtral-12B (Mistral AI) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Grok-3 Mini compare to Pixtral-12B in benchmarks?

Grok-3 Mini scores AIME 2024: 95.8%, AIME 2025: 90.8%, GPQA: 84.0%, LiveCodeBench: 80.4%. Pixtral-12B scores DocVQA: 90.7%, ChartQA: 81.8%, VQAv2: 78.6%, MT-Bench: 76.8%, HumanEval: 72.0%.

Is Grok-3 Mini cheaper than Pixtral-12B?

Pixtral-12B is 2.0x cheaper for input tokens. Grok-3 Mini costs $0.30/M input and $0.50/M output via xai. Pixtral-12B costs $0.15/M input and $0.15/M output via mistral.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-3 Mini and Pixtral-12B?

Grok-3 Mini supports 128K tokens and Pixtral-12B supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Grok-3 Mini and Pixtral-12B?

Key differences include input pricing ($0.30 vs $0.15/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok-3 Mini and Pixtral-12B?

Grok-3 Mini is developed by xAI and Pixtral-12B is developed by Mistral AI.