Model Comparison

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) vs Mistral Small

Comparing Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) and Mistral Small across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) and Mistral Small 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

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) costs less

For input processing, Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) ($0.15/1M tokens) is 1.3x cheaper than Mistral Small ($0.20/1M tokens).

For output processing, Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) ($0.15/1M tokens) is 4.0x cheaper than Mistral Small ($0.60/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Mistral Small is more expensive than Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512).*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed May 27 2026 • llm-stats.com
Mistral AI
Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512)
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.15
Best providerMistral
Mistral AI
Mistral Small
Input tokens$0.20
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerMistral
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

14.0B diff

Mistral Small has 14.0B more parameters than Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512), making it 175.0% larger.

Mistral AI
Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512)
8.0Bparameters
Mistral AI
Mistral Small
22.0Bparameters
8.0B
Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512)
22.0B
Mistral Small

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) accepts 262,100 input tokens compared to Mistral Small's 32,768 tokens. Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) can generate longer responses up to 262,100 tokens, while Mistral Small is limited to 32,768 tokens.

Mistral AI
Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512)
Input262,100 tokens
Output262,100 tokens
Mistral AI
Mistral Small
Input32,768 tokens
Output32,768 tokens
Wed May 27 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) supports multimodal inputs, whereas Mistral Small does not.

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512)

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Small

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Mistral Small uses Mistral Research License.

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

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512)

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Mistral Small

Mistral Research License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) was released on 2025-12-04, while Mistral Small was released on 2024-09-17.

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) is 15 months newer than Mistral Small.

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512)

Dec 4, 2025

5 months ago

1.2yr newer
Mistral Small

Sep 17, 2024

1.7 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) is available from Mistral AI. Mistral Small is available from Mistral AI.

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512)

mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.15/1M

Mistral Small

mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Mistral AI
Larger context window (262,100 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Mistral AI

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

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Mistral AI
Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512)
Mistral AI
Mistral Small

FAQ

Common questions about Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) vs Mistral Small.

Which is better, Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) or Mistral Small?

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) (Mistral AI) and Mistral Small (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 Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) compare to Mistral Small in benchmarks?

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) scores AIME 2024: 86.0%, AIME 2025: 78.7%, GPQA: 66.8%, LiveCodeBench: 61.6%.

Is Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) cheaper than Mistral Small?

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) is 1.3x cheaper for input tokens. Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) costs $0.15/M input and $0.15/M output via mistral. Mistral Small costs $0.20/M input and $0.60/M output via mistral.

What are the context window sizes for Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) and Mistral Small?

Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) supports 262K tokens and Mistral Small supports 33K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Ministral 3 (8B Reasoning 2512) and Mistral Small?

Key differences include context window (262K vs 33K), input pricing ($0.15 vs $0.20/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs Mistral Research License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.