Skip to content
ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Mistral Large 3 2512 vs Mixtral 8x22B Instruct

Mistral Large 3 2512 (Mistral AI) and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct (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 #225); Mistral Large 3 2512 is 8× cheaper per output token ($0.75/1M vs $6.00/1M); Mistral Large 3 2512 offers the longer context window (262K vs 66K tokens); and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Mistral Large 3 2512 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #72 against #225 (60.9 vs 11.5 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.75/1M output tokens against $6.00/1M, about 8× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.25/1M against $2.00/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 66K.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1469 against 1278.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Mistral Large 3 2512 was listed 1 December 2025, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct 17 April 2024.

Choose Mixtral 8x22B Instruct if…

  • you want to self-host: Mixtral 8x22B Instruct ships open weights while Mistral Large 3 2512 is api only.

Mistral Large 3 2512 vs Mixtral 8x22B Instruct: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Mistral Large 3 2512 and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct
FieldMistral Large 3 2512Mistral AIMixtral 8x22B InstructMistral AI
ModelCap Index position#72#225
Index score60.911.5
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.25$2.00
Output price / 1M tokens$0.75$6.00
Context window262K tokens66K tokens
Max output tokens210K52K
API providers listed11
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, FileText, File
First listed1 December 202517 April 2024
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 Mixtral 8x22B Instruct

Public benchmark boards where Mistral Large 3 2512 or Mixtral 8x22B Instruct has a published result
BoardMistral Large 3 2512Mixtral 8x22B InstructLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14691464–147412781269–1286Mistral Large 3 2512

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 Mixtral 8x22B Instruct: common questions

Is Mistral Large 3 2512 better than Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

Mistral Large 3 2512 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 22 September 2026: #72 against #225. 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 Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

Mistral Large 3 2512 is cheaper on output tokens: $0.75/1M against $6.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.25/1M for Mistral Large 3 2512 and $2.00/1M for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct. 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 $7.00 for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct. Mistral Large 3 2512 costs 87.5% 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 Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

Mistral Large 3 2512 has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 66K.

Which is better for coding, Mistral Large 3 2512 or Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

Arena coding: Mistral Large 3 2512 1469, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct 1278 — Mistral Large 3 2512 leads.

Are Mistral Large 3 2512 and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct open-weight models?

Mistral Large 3 2512: API only. Mixtral 8x22B Instruct: 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 Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Mistral Large 3 2512 and 1 for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct, 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 Mixtral 8x22B Instruct 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.

Explore further