Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct vs QwQ-32B-Preview
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct and QwQ-32B-Preview are closely matched at 4.2 and 9.0 on the LLM Stats Score. Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is 2.8x cheaper per token.
Mistral AI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct and QwQ-32B-Preview are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 4.2 and 9.0.
In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, QwQ-32B-Preview wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is roughly 2.8x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct
- cost matters — it's about 2.8x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025
Choose QwQ-32B-Preview
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
8 reported for Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct · 4 for QwQ-32B-Preview
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while QwQ-32B-Preview is better at 1 benchmark (GPQA).
QwQ-32B-Preview significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct ($0.05/1M tokens) is 3.0x cheaper than QwQ-32B-Preview ($0.15/1M tokens).
For output processing, Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct ($0.08/1M tokens) is 2.5x cheaper than QwQ-32B-Preview ($0.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, QwQ-32B-Preview is more expensive than Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
QwQ-32B-Preview has 8.5B more parameters than Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct, making it 35.4% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 32,768 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 32,768 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under Apache 2.0.
Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct was released on 2025-01-30, while QwQ-32B-Preview was released on 2024-11-28.
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is 2 months newer than QwQ-32B-Preview.
Jan 30, 2025
1.6 years ago
2mo newerNov 28, 2024
1.8 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct has a knowledge cutoff of 2023-10-01, while QwQ-32B-Preview has a cutoff of 2024-11-28.
QwQ-32B-Preview has more recent training data (up to 2024-11-28), making it potentially better informed about events through that date compared to Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct (2023-10-01).
Oct 2023
Nov 2024
1.1 yr newerProvider Availability
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Mistral AI. QwQ-32B-Preview is available from DeepInfra, Hyperbolic, Fireworks, Together.
Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct
QwQ-32B-Preview
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct and QwQ-32B-Preview side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Mistral Small 3 24B Instruct vs QwQ-32B-Preview.