Mistral Large 3 vs Mistral Medium: API Cost Comparison
Compare the API pricing, context windows, features, and real-world cost projections for Mistral Large 3 (Mistral AI) and Mistral Medium (Mistral AI). Use the interactive calculator below to compute your exact monthly cost based on your token usage and request volume.
Prices verified Apr 30, 2026
Interactive Cost Calculator
Fills in typical token counts for a workload type
Tokens in each prompt sent to the model
Tokens generated in each response
Total API calls per month
Showing costs for 2 models. Cheapest: Mistral Large 3 at $12.50/month.
| Alert | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BestMistral Large 3 | Mistral AI | $12.50 | $0.001250 | $5.00 | $7.50 | 76.2% | Alerts coming soon |
Mistral Medium | Mistral AI | $52.50 | $0.005250 | $15.00 | $37.50 | — | Alerts coming soon |
Monthly Cost Comparison
Price Comparison at a Glance
All prices are in USD per 1 million tokens ($/M tokens). Lower is cheaper.
| Pricing Type | Mistral Large 3 | Mistral Medium | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input (standard) | $0.50/M | $1.50/M | Mistral Large 3 |
| Output | $1.50/M | $7.50/M | Mistral Large 3 |
Prices last verified: 2026-03-08 – 2026-04-30
Cost Breakdown by Usage Volume
Estimated monthly costs at different request volumes, assuming 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request. Adjust in the calculator above for your specific use case.
| Volume | Mistral Large 3Monthly | Mistral MediumMonthly | Mistral Large 3Per request | Mistral MediumPer request |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1K requests/mo | $1.25 | $5.25 | $0.001250 | $0.005250 |
| 10K requests/mo | $12.50 | $52.50 | $0.001250 | $0.005250 |
| 100K requests/mo | $125.00 | $525.00 | $0.001250 | $0.005250 |
| 1M requests/mo | $1,250.00 | $5,250.00 | $0.001250 | $0.005250 |
Green values indicate the lower-cost option at each volume tier. Cost per request is calculated at 1,000 input + 500 output tokens using standard (non-batch, non-cached) pricing.
Price History
Input price per 1M tokensWhen to Choose Mistral Large 3
by Mistral AI
- Code generation
- Content & copywriting
- RAG / Semantic search
Input / 1M tokens
$0.50/M
Output / 1M tokens
$1.50/M
Context window
262,144
Tier
premium
When to Choose Mistral Medium
by Mistral AI
- General chatbot
- Customer support
- Content & copywriting
Input / 1M tokens
$1.50/M
Output / 1M tokens
$7.50/M
Context window
131,072
Tier
premium
Key Differences Beyond Price
Cost is only one factor in choosing an AI model. Context window size, rate limits, supported features, and latency all affect whether a model fits your use case.
| Capability | Mistral Large 3 | Mistral Medium |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output tokens | 8,192 tokens | 4,096 tokens |
| Performance tier | Premium | Premium |
| Vision / image input | Yes | No |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| JSON mode | Yes | Yes |
| Prompt caching | No | No |
| Batch API (50% discount) | No | No |
| Extended reasoning | No | No |
| Fine-tuning | No | No |
Mistral Large 3 notes
Major price reduction from original Mistral Large ($2/$6 -> $0.50/$1.50). Supports 80+ languages.
Mistral Medium notes
Good balance of quality and cost for European GDPR-compliant workloads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mistral Large 3 cheaper than Mistral Medium?
At standard usage (1,000 input tokens, 500 output tokens, 100,000 requests/month), Mistral Large 3 costs $125.00/month versus $525.00/month for Mistral Medium — a 76% saving. Your actual savings will vary based on your token profile; output-heavy workloads amplify differences in output pricing.
Which model has a larger context window, Mistral Large 3 or Mistral Medium?
Mistral Large 3 has a larger context window at 262,144 tokens, compared to 131,072 tokens for Mistral Medium. A larger context window is important for processing long documents, multi-turn conversations, or large codebases without truncation.
Do Mistral Large 3 and Mistral Medium support the Batch API?
Neither Mistral Large 3 nor Mistral Medium currently supports a batch API with discounted pricing. For batch-eligible alternatives, consider models from OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google that include batch API support.
Which model offers better prompt caching?
Neither Mistral Large 3 nor Mistral Medium currently supports prompt caching. For prompt-caching capable alternatives, consider Claude models from Anthropic or GPT-4o from OpenAI.
What are the best use cases for Mistral Large 3 vs Mistral Medium?
Both models are well-suited for Content & copywriting. Mistral Large 3 is particularly strong for Code generation, RAG / Semantic search. Mistral Medium is favored for General chatbot, Customer support. At the same quality level, the lower-cost model is usually preferable; use this page's calculator to compare total monthly spend at your volume.
What is the cost per request for Mistral Large 3 vs Mistral Medium?
At 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request — a typical conversational workload — Mistral Large 3 costs $0.001250 per request and Mistral Medium costs $0.005250 per request. At 100,000 requests/month, that translates to $125.00 and $525.00 respectively. Use the interactive calculator to adjust these parameters for your actual workload.
Mistral Large 3 vs Mistral Medium: Summary
When comparing Mistral Large 3 and Mistral Medium for API cost, the right choice depends on your workload's token profile, required features, and tolerance for latency. Mistral Large 3 offers lower total cost at standard usage volumes (1,000 input + 500 output tokens per request at 100,000 requests/month) at $125.00/month, compared to $525.00/month for Mistral Medium.
Both models are priced in USD per million tokens, the standard unit across all major AI API providers. Mistral Large 3 charges $0.50/M for input tokens and $1.50/M for output tokens. Mistral Medium charges $1.50/M input and $7.50/M output. If your workload is output-heavy (more tokens generated than consumed as input), the model with the lower output price compounds cost savings significantly at scale.
Context window capacity differs between the two: Mistral Large 3 supports up to 262,144 tokens in a single request, versus 131,072 tokens for Mistral Medium. A larger context window is essential for document summarization, large codebase analysis, and multi-document retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) applications.
Use the interactive calculator at the top of this page to enter your actual token usage and monthly request volume for a precise cost comparison tailored to your workload. Adjust for batch API discounts and prompt caching to find the most cost-effective option for your specific deployment.
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Relevant Use Cases
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