Model Comparison

Mistral Small vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-BaseWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Mistral Small and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Mistral Small vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base — which is better?

Mistral Small (by Mistral AI) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base (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.

Choose Mistral Small if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.20/M input and $0.60/M output

Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Mistral Small and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base don't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

58.0B diff

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base has 58.0B more parameters than Mistral Small, making it 263.6% larger.

Mistral AI
Mistral Small
22.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base
80.0Bparameters
22.0B
Mistral Small
80.0B
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Mistral Small specifies input context (32,768 tokens). Only Mistral Small specifies output context (32,768 tokens).

Mistral AI
Mistral Small
Input32,768 tokens
Output32,768 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jun 07 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Mistral Small is licensed under Mistral Research License, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base uses Apache 2.0.

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

Mistral Small

Mistral Research License

Open weights

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Mistral Small was released on 2024-09-17, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base was released on 2025-09-10.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base is 12 months newer than Mistral Small.

Mistral Small

Sep 17, 2024

1.7 years ago

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base

Sep 10, 2025

9 months ago

11mo 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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Mistral AI
Larger context window (32,768 tokens)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

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

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Mistral AI
Mistral Small
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base

FAQ

Common questions about Mistral Small vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base.

Which is better, Mistral Small or Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base?

Mistral Small (Mistral AI) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base (Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

What are the context window sizes for Mistral Small and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base?

Mistral Small supports 33K tokens and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base supports an unknown number of 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base?

Key differences include licensing (Mistral Research License vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Mistral Small and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base?

Mistral Small is developed by Mistral AI and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Base is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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