Skip to content
ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

Mistral Medium 3.5 vs Inkling Small

Mistral Medium 3.5 (Mistral AI) and Inkling Small (Thinking Machines) 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 3 September 2026

As of 3 September 2026, Mistral Medium 3.5 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#41 vs #42); Inkling Small is 6.3× cheaper per output token ($1.20/1M vs $7.50/1M); Inkling Small offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens); and Inkling Small ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Mistral Medium 3.5 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #41 against #42 (54.7 vs 53.9 points).
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1479 against 1476.

Choose Inkling Small if…

  • API cost matters — $1.20/1M output tokens against $7.50/1M, about 6.3× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.45/1M against $1.50/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.
  • you want to self-host: Inkling Small ships open weights while Mistral Medium 3.5 is api only.
  • you want provider choice — 3 listed API providers against 1.
  • LMArena Agent is your yardstick — -5.3% against -6.1%.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 41.2 against 30.4.
  • AA Terminal-Bench 2.1 is your yardstick — 55.1% against 50.6%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 33.3% against 13.8%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Inkling Small was listed 30 July 2026, Mistral Medium 3.5 30 April 2026.

Mistral Medium 3.5 vs Inkling Small: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Mistral Medium 3.5 and Inkling Small
FieldMistral Medium 3.5Mistral AIInkling SmallThinking Machines
ModelCap Index position#41#42
Index score54.753.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$1.50$0.45
Output price / 1M tokens$7.50$1.20
Context window262K tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens210K262K
API providers listed13
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, FileText, Image, Audio
First listed30 April 202630 July 2026
PublisherMistral AIThinking Machines

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards · 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Mistral Medium 3.5 vs Inkling Small

Public benchmark boards where Mistral Medium 3.5 or Inkling Small has a published result
BoardMistral Medium 3.5Inkling SmallLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14791468–149014761467–1486Mistral Medium 3.5
LMArena AgentLMArena-6.1%-7.8%–-4.5%-5.3%-7.1%–-3.5%Inkling Small
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—40.1%X-HighOnly one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis30.4intelligence-index41.2intelligence-indexInkling Small
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis50.6%terminal-bench-2.155.1%terminal-bench-2.1Inkling Small
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis94.2%tau2-bench-telecom—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis13.8%humanitys-last-exam33.3%humanitys-last-examInkling Small

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 Medium 3.5 vs Inkling Small: common questions

Is Mistral Medium 3.5 better than Inkling Small?

Mistral Medium 3.5 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 3 September 2026: #41 against #42. 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.

Is Mistral Medium 3.5 cheaper than Inkling Small?

Inkling Small is cheaper on output tokens: $1.20/1M against $7.50/1M. Input tokens are $1.50/1M for Mistral Medium 3.5 and $0.45/1M for Inkling Small. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Mistral Medium 3.5 or Inkling Small?

Inkling Small has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Mistral Medium 3.5 or Inkling Small?

Arena coding: Mistral Medium 3.5 1479, Inkling Small 1476 — Mistral Medium 3.5 leads. AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: Mistral Medium 3.5 50.6%, Inkling Small 55.1% — Inkling Small leads.

Are Mistral Medium 3.5 and Inkling Small open-weight models?

Mistral Medium 3.5: API only. Inkling Small: 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 Medium 3.5 and Inkling Small?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Mistral Medium 3.5 and 3 for Inkling Small, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Mistral Medium 3.5 vs Inkling Small comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 3 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