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Head-to-head comparison

Mistral Small 3.2 24B vs Mixtral 8x22B Instruct

Mistral Small 3.2 24B (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 Small 3.2 24B holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#134 vs #226); Mistral Small 3.2 24B is 24× cheaper per output token ($0.25/1M vs $6.00/1M); and Mistral Small 3.2 24B offers the longer context window (256K vs 66K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Mistral Small 3.2 24B if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #134 against #226 (41.9 vs 11.5 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.25/1M output tokens against $6.00/1M, about 24× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.094/1M against $2.00/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 256K tokens against 66K.
  • you want provider choice — 3 listed API providers against 1.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1412 against 1278.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Mistral Small 3.2 24B was listed 20 June 2025, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct 17 April 2024.

Choose Mixtral 8x22B Instruct if…

  • ModelCap publishes no field on which Mixtral 8x22B Instruct leads Mistral Small 3.2 24B for this pair.

Mistral Small 3.2 24B vs Mixtral 8x22B Instruct: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Mistral Small 3.2 24B and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct
FieldMistral Small 3.2 24BMistral AIMixtral 8x22B InstructMistral AI
ModelCap Index position#134#226
Index score41.911.5
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.094$2.00
Output price / 1M tokens$0.25$6.00
Context window256K tokens66K tokens
Max output tokens16K52K
API providers listed31
Weight accessOpen weightsOpen weights
Input modalitiesImage, TextText, File
First listed20 June 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 Small 3.2 24B vs Mixtral 8x22B Instruct

Public benchmark boards where Mistral Small 3.2 24B or Mixtral 8x22B Instruct has a published result
BoardMistral Small 3.2 24BMixtral 8x22B InstructLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14121402–142212781269–1286Mistral Small 3.2 24B
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 Small 3.2 24B vs Mixtral 8x22B Instruct: common questions

Is Mistral Small 3.2 24B better than Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

Mistral Small 3.2 24B ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 22 September 2026: #134 against #226. 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 Small 3.2 24B cheaper than Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

Mistral Small 3.2 24B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.25/1M against $6.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.094/1M for Mistral Small 3.2 24B 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 $0.31 for Mistral Small 3.2 24B versus $7.00 for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct. Mistral Small 3.2 24B costs 95.5% 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 Small 3.2 24B or Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

Mistral Small 3.2 24B has the larger context window: 256K tokens against 66K.

Which is better for coding, Mistral Small 3.2 24B or Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

Arena coding: Mistral Small 3.2 24B 1412, Mixtral 8x22B Instruct 1278 — Mistral Small 3.2 24B leads.

Are Mistral Small 3.2 24B and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct open-weight models?

Mistral Small 3.2 24B: Open weights. 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 Small 3.2 24B and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct?

ModelCap currently lists 3 API providers for Mistral Small 3.2 24B 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 Small 3.2 24B 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.

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