Mistral Medium vs Mistral Small 4: API Cost Comparison
Compare the API pricing, context windows, features, and real-world cost projections for Mistral Medium (Mistral AI) and Mistral Small 4 (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 Small 4 at $4.50/month.
| Alert | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BestMistral Small 4 | Mistral AI | $4.50 | $0.000450 | $1.50 | $3.00 | 91.4% | 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 Medium | Mistral Small 4 | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input (standard) | $1.50/M | $0.15/M | Mistral Small 4 |
| Output | $7.50/M | $0.60/M | Mistral Small 4 |
Prices last verified: 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 MediumMonthly | Mistral Small 4Monthly | Mistral MediumPer request | Mistral Small 4Per request |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1K requests/mo | $5.25 | $0.45 | $0.005250 | $0.000450 |
| 10K requests/mo | $52.50 | $4.50 | $0.005250 | $0.000450 |
| 100K requests/mo | $525.00 | $45.00 | $0.005250 | $0.000450 |
| 1M requests/mo | $5,250.00 | $450.00 | $0.005250 | $0.000450 |
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 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
When to Choose Mistral Small 4
by Mistral AI
- General chatbot
Input / 1M tokens
$0.15/M
Output / 1M tokens
$0.60/M
Context window
262,144
Tier
budget
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 Medium | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output tokens | 4,096 tokens | 4,096 tokens |
| Performance tier | Premium | Budget |
| Vision / image input | No | No |
| Function calling | Yes | No |
| JSON mode | Yes | No |
| Prompt caching | No | No |
| Batch API (50% discount) | No | No |
| Extended reasoning | No | No |
| Fine-tuning | No | No |
Mistral Medium notes
Good balance of quality and cost for European GDPR-compliant workloads.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mistral Medium cheaper than Mistral Small 4?
At standard usage (1,000 input tokens, 500 output tokens, 100,000 requests/month), Mistral Small 4 costs $45.00/month versus $525.00/month for Mistral Medium — a 91% 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 Medium or Mistral Small 4?
Mistral Small 4 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 Medium and Mistral Small 4 support the Batch API?
Neither Mistral Medium nor Mistral Small 4 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 Medium nor Mistral Small 4 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 Medium vs Mistral Small 4?
Both models are well-suited for General chatbot. Mistral Medium is particularly strong for Customer support, Content & copywriting. Mistral Small 4 is favored for similar workflows. 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 Medium vs Mistral Small 4?
At 1,000 input tokens and 500 output tokens per request — a typical conversational workload — Mistral Medium costs $0.005250 per request and Mistral Small 4 costs $0.000450 per request. At 100,000 requests/month, that translates to $525.00 and $45.00 respectively. Use the interactive calculator to adjust these parameters for your actual workload.
Mistral Medium vs Mistral Small 4: Summary
When comparing Mistral Medium and Mistral Small 4 for API cost, the right choice depends on your workload's token profile, required features, and tolerance for latency. Mistral Small 4 offers lower total cost at standard usage volumes (1,000 input + 500 output tokens per request at 100,000 requests/month) at $45.00/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 Medium charges $1.50/M for input tokens and $7.50/M for output tokens. Mistral Small 4 charges $0.15/M input and $0.60/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 Small 4 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.
Related Comparisons
Explore other model comparisons from the same providers or performance tiers.
Related Provider Pages
View complete pricing tables and model lineups for the providers behind these models.
Relevant Use Cases
See cost recommendations for workloads where Mistral Medium or Mistral Small 4 is recommended.