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Head-to-head comparison

Mistral Large 3 2512 vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B

Mistral Large 3 2512 (Mistral AI) and Mistral Small 3.2 24B (Mistral AI) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 22 September 2026

As of 22 September 2026, Mistral Large 3 2512 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#72 vs #133); Mistral Small 3.2 24B is 3× cheaper per output token ($0.25/1M vs $0.75/1M); Mistral Large 3 2512 offers the longer context window (262K vs 256K tokens); and Mistral Small 3.2 24B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Mistral Large 3 2512 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #72 against #133 (60.9 vs 41.9 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 256K.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1469 against 1412.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Mistral Large 3 2512 was listed 1 December 2025, Mistral Small 3.2 24B 20 June 2025.

Choose Mistral Small 3.2 24B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.25/1M output tokens against $0.75/1M, about 3× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.094/1M against $0.25/1M.
  • you want to self-host: Mistral Small 3.2 24B ships open weights while Mistral Large 3 2512 is api only.
  • you want provider choice — 3 listed API providers against 1.

Mistral Large 3 2512 vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Mistral Large 3 2512 and Mistral Small 3.2 24B
FieldMistral Large 3 2512Mistral AIMistral Small 3.2 24BMistral AI
ModelCap Index position#72#133
Index score60.941.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.25$0.094
Output price / 1M tokens$0.75$0.25
Context window262K tokens256K tokens
Max output tokens210K16K
API providers listed13
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, FileImage, Text
First listed1 December 202520 June 2025
PublisherMistral AIMistral AI

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Mistral Large 3 2512 vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B

Public benchmark boards where Mistral Large 3 2512 or Mistral Small 3.2 24B has a published result
BoardMistral Large 3 2512Mistral Small 3.2 24BLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14691464–147414121402–1422Mistral Large 3 2512
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)37.2Function callingOnly one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Mistral Large 3 2512 vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B: common questions

Is Mistral Large 3 2512 better than Mistral Small 3.2 24B?

Mistral Large 3 2512 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 22 September 2026: #72 against #133. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it. Their published uncertainty intervals do not overlap, but the aggregate Index does not predict performance on every task; compare the relevant benchmark configurations before choosing.

Is Mistral Large 3 2512 cheaper than Mistral Small 3.2 24B?

Mistral Small 3.2 24B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.25/1M against $0.75/1M. Input tokens are $0.25/1M for Mistral Large 3 2512 and $0.094/1M for Mistral Small 3.2 24B. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $0.88 for Mistral Large 3 2512 versus $0.31 for Mistral Small 3.2 24B. Mistral Small 3.2 24B costs 64.3% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, Mistral Large 3 2512 or Mistral Small 3.2 24B?

Mistral Large 3 2512 has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 256K.

Which is better for coding, Mistral Large 3 2512 or Mistral Small 3.2 24B?

Arena coding: Mistral Large 3 2512 1469, Mistral Small 3.2 24B 1412 — Mistral Large 3 2512 leads.

Are Mistral Large 3 2512 and Mistral Small 3.2 24B open-weight models?

Mistral Large 3 2512: API only. Mistral Small 3.2 24B: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Mistral Large 3 2512 and Mistral Small 3.2 24B?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Mistral Large 3 2512 and 3 for Mistral Small 3.2 24B, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Mistral Large 3 2512 vs Mistral Small 3.2 24B comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 22 September 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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