Granite 4.0 Micro vs Mistral Small 3
Mistral Small 3 leads Granite 4.0 Micro on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 6.7 to 5.1, and Mistral Small 3 costs 1.4x less per output token ($0.08 vs $0.112 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 10 benchmarks have a result for both.
Granite 4.0 Micro or Mistral Small 3: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Granite 4.0 Micro for a larger context window (131K against 33K tokens) and work measured by LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) or AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 10
- Granite 4.0 Micro only
- 3
- Mistral Small 3 only
- 26
- Like-for-like categories
- 7 of 9
Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Mistral Small 3
Mistral Small 3 leads, 6.7 against 5.1.
Same board, both measured
Long documents
Listed context window
Granite 4.0 Micro
Granite 4.0 Micro takes 131K tokens against 33K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Granite 4.0 Micro
Granite 4.0 Micro $0.0001, Mistral Small 3 $0.0001 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Granite 4.0 Micro not benchmarked, Mistral Small 3 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Knowledge, 20.5 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run): Granite 4.0 Micro 44.7% against Mistral Small 3 65.2%, 20.5 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Granite 4.0 Micro $0.112 against Mistral Small 3 $0.08 per million output tokens, 1.4x apart.
- Context window
- Granite 4.0 Micro takes 131K tokens, Mistral Small 3 33K.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Granite 4.0 Micro | Bars | Mistral Small 3 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 1 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Agentic work | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 1 | 1 | ||
| Math | 2 | 0 | ||
| Knowledge | 0 | 1 | ||
| General | 1 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 4 | 6 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index01
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 18.0% | 25.2% | Mistral Small 3 |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 1.5% | Not measured | Only Granite 4.0 Micro measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | Not measured | 1246 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | Not measured | 1248 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 39 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 5.1 | 6.7 | Mistral Small 3 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 12.6% | 19.6% | Mistral Small 3 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 41 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index11
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 33.6% | 46.2% | Mistral Small 3 |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 5.0% | 3.8% | Granite 4.0 Micro |
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | 28.3% | Not measured | Only Granite 4.0 Micro measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | Not measured | 1233 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | Not measured | 1202 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | Not measured | 1243 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here | |||
MathLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 6.0 | 4.3 | Granite 4.0 Micro |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 6.0% | 4.3% | Granite 4.0 Micro |
| OTIS Mock AIME | 2.8% | Not measured | Only Granite 4.0 Micro measured |
| LMArena Text: math | Not measured | 1240 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | Not measured | 1243 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 9 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 44.7% | 65.2% | Mistral Small 3 |
| LMArena Text: science | Not measured | 1235 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | Not measured | 1215 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | Not measured | 1219 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | Not measured | 1205 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 15 boards here | |||
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 9 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index11
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 24.8% | 26.4% | Mistral Small 3 |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 7.0% | 0.0% | Granite 4.0 Micro |
| LMArena Text | Not measured | 1234 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | Not measured | 1214 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | Not measured | 1194 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: English | Not measured | 1256 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | Not measured | 1198 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | Not measured | 1204 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: German | Not measured | 1211 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | Not measured | 1111 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | Not measured | 1188 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: French | Not measured | 1204 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | Not measured | 1216 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | Not measured | 1217 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | Not measured | 1246 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | Not measured | 1214 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | Not measured | 1184 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 31 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
Granite 4.0 Micro costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Granite 4.0 Micro costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Granite 4.0 Micro costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | IBM Granite 4.0 Micro | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | IBM Granite | Mistral AI |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | October 20, 2025 | January 30, 2025 |
| Context window | 131K | 33K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.017 | $0.05 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.112 | $0.08 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Granite 4.0 Micro better than Mistral Small 3 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Granite 4.0 Micro for a larger context window (131K against 33K tokens) and work measured by LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) or AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Granite 4.0 Micro or Mistral Small 3?
Granite 4.0 Micro costs $0.017 per million input tokens and $0.112 per million output tokens; Mistral Small 3 costs $0.05 and $0.08. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Granite 4.0 Micro or Mistral Small 3?
Granite 4.0 Micro, with 131K tokens against 33K.
How many benchmarks is the Granite 4.0 Micro vs Mistral Small 3 comparison based on?
10 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Granite 4.0 Micro's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Mistral Small 3's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.