Model Comparison
Magistral Small 2506 vs Qwen3 MaxWhich is better in 2026?
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Verdict: Magistral Small 2506 vs Qwen3 Max — which is better?
Magistral Small 2506 (by Mistral AI) and Qwen3 Max (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) 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.
Magistral Small 2506 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Qwen3 Max is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2025). Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Choose Magistral Small 2506 if…
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Choose Qwen3 Max if…
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Dec 2025
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Magistral Small 2506 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (GPQA), while Qwen3 Max is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2025).
Both models are evenly matched across the benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3 Max has 976.0B more parameters than Magistral Small 2506, making it 4066.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Qwen3 Max specifies input context (256,000 tokens). Only Qwen3 Max specifies output context (131,072 tokens).
License
Usage and distribution terms
Magistral Small 2506 is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Qwen3 Max uses a proprietary license.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Proprietary
Closed source
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Magistral Small 2506 was released on 2025-06-10, while Qwen3 Max was released on 2025-12-15.
Qwen3 Max is 6 months newer than Magistral Small 2506.
Jun 10, 2025
1.1 years ago
Dec 15, 2025
7 months ago
6mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Magistral Small 2506 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-06-01, while Qwen3 Max's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Magistral Small 2506's training data extends to 2025-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Qwen3 Max's cutoff date.
Jun 2025
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Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Magistral Small 2506
View detailsMistral AI
Qwen3 Max
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Magistral Small 2506 and Qwen3 Max side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Magistral Small 2506 vs Qwen3 Max.