Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct
Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Mistral AI · Mistral AI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMLU), while Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro, MMMU). Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base
- you want predictable pricing at $0.10/M input and $0.30/M output
Choose Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 4 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2025
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MMLU), while Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct is better at 3 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro, MMMU).
Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base has 0.4B more parameters than Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct, making it 1.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base specifies output context (128,000 tokens).
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Both Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base
Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct
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 3.1 24B Base was released on 2025-03-17, while Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct was released on 2025-06-20.
Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct is 3 months newer than Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base.
Mar 17, 2025
1.4 years ago
Jun 20, 2025
1.2 years ago
3mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2023-10-01, while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct's training data extends to 2023-10-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base's cutoff date.
—
Oct 2023
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base and Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B Instruct.