Model Comparison

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-ThinkingWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base is 3.2x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking — which is better?

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base (by Mistral AI) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking (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.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro). Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base is roughly 3.2x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base also accepts a larger context window (128,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base if…

  • cost matters — it's about 3.2x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 128,000 token context window

Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is better at 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro).

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jun 06 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base costs less

For input processing, Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base ($0.10/1M tokens) is 1.5x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base ($0.30/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking ($1.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is more expensive than Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Jun 06 2026 • llm-stats.com
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.30
Best providerMistral
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$1.50
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

56.0B diff

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking has 56.0B more parameters than Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base, making it 233.3% larger.

Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base
24.0Bparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
80.0Bparameters
24.0B
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base
80.0B
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base accepts 128,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking's 65,536 tokens. Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base can generate longer responses up to 128,000 tokens, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is limited to 65,536 tokens.

Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking
Input65,536 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Sat Jun 06 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking does not.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under Apache 2.0.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking was released on 2025-09-10.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is 6 months newer than Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base

Mar 17, 2025

1.2 years ago

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

Sep 10, 2025

8 months ago

5mo 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 3.1 24B Base is available from Mistral AI. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is available from Novita.

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base

mistral logo
Mistral
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.30/1M

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Mistral AI
Larger context window (128,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Higher GPQA score (77.2% vs 37.5%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (82.7% vs 56.0%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Mistral AI
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking

FAQ

Common questions about Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking.

Which is better, Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base or Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base is made by Mistral AI and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base compare to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking in benchmarks?

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base scores MMLU: 81.0%, TriviaQA: 80.5%, MMMU: 59.3%, MMLU-Pro: 56.0%, GPQA: 37.5%. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking scores MMLU-Redux: 92.5%, IFEval: 88.9%, AIME 2025: 87.8%, WritingBench: 84.6%, MMLU-Pro: 82.7%.

Is Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base cheaper than Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base is 1.5x cheaper for input tokens. Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base costs $0.10/M input and $0.30/M output via mistral. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking costs $0.15/M input and $1.50/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base supports 128K tokens and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking supports 66K 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 3.1 24B Base and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Key differences include context window (128K vs 66K), input pricing ($0.10 vs $0.15/M), multimodal support (yes vs no). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking?

Mistral Small 3.1 24B Base is developed by Mistral AI and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Thinking is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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