Model Comparison

Mistral Small vs Nova LiteWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Mistral Small and Nova Lite across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Mistral Small vs Nova Lite — which is better?

Mistral Small (by Mistral AI) and Nova Lite (by Amazon) 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.

On price, Nova Lite is roughly 2.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Nova Lite also accepts a larger context window (300,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Mistral Small if…

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

Choose Nova Lite if…

  • cost matters — it's about 2.9x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 300,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2024
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Mistral Small and Nova Litedon'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

Nova Lite costs less

For input processing, Mistral Small ($0.20/1M tokens) is 3.3x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.06/1M tokens).

For output processing, Mistral Small ($0.60/1M tokens) is 2.5x more expensive than Nova Lite ($0.24/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Mistral Small is more expensive than Nova Lite.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com
Mistral AI
Mistral Small
Input tokens$0.20
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerMistral
Amazon
Nova Lite
Input tokens$0.06
Output tokens$0.24
Best providerAWS Bedrock
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Nova Lite accepts 300,000 input tokens compared to Mistral Small's 32,768 tokens. Mistral Small can generate longer responses up to 32,768 tokens, while Nova Lite is limited to 2,048 tokens.

Mistral AI
Mistral Small
Input32,768 tokens
Output32,768 tokens
Amazon
Nova Lite
Input300,000 tokens
Output2,048 tokens
Wed Jun 24 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Nova Lite supports multimodal inputs, whereas Mistral Small does not.

Nova Lite can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Mistral Small

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Nova Lite

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Mistral Small is licensed under Mistral Research License, while Nova Lite uses a proprietary license.

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

Mistral Small

Mistral Research License

Open weights

Nova Lite

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Mistral Small was released on 2024-09-17, while Nova Lite was released on 2024-11-20.

Nova Lite is 2 months newer than Mistral Small.

Mistral Small

Sep 17, 2024

1.8 years ago

Nova Lite

Nov 20, 2024

1.6 years ago

2mo newer

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

Mistral Small is available from Mistral AI. Nova Lite is available from Bedrock.

Mistral Small

mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $0.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M

Nova Lite

bedrock logo
AWS Bedrock
Input Price:Input: $0.06/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.24/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Mistral AI
Has open weights
Amazon
Larger context window (300,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Mistral AI
Mistral Small
Amazon
Nova Lite

FAQ

Common questions about Mistral Small vs Nova Lite.

Which is better, Mistral Small or Nova Lite?

Mistral Small (Mistral AI) and Nova Lite (Amazon) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does Mistral Small compare to Nova Lite in benchmarks?

Nova Lite scores GSM8k: 94.5%, ARC-C: 92.4%, DocVQA: 92.4%, IFEval: 89.7%, Translation en→Set1 COMET22: 88.8%.

Is Mistral Small cheaper than Nova Lite?

Nova Lite is 3.3x cheaper for input tokens. Mistral Small costs $0.20/M input and $0.60/M output via mistral. Nova Lite costs $0.06/M input and $0.24/M output via bedrock.

What are the context window sizes for Mistral Small and Nova Lite?

Mistral Small supports 33K tokens and Nova Lite supports 300K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Mistral Small and Nova Lite?

Key differences include context window (33K vs 300K), input pricing ($0.20 vs $0.06/M), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Mistral Research License vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Mistral Small and Nova Lite?

Mistral Small is developed by Mistral AI and Nova Lite is developed by Amazon.

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