Ministral 3 3B 2512 vs Qwen3.6 27B
Qwen3.6 27B leads Ministral 3 3B 2512 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 21.4 to 4.8, and Ministral 3 3B 2512 costs 27.0x less per output token ($0.10 vs $2.70 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 3 benchmarks have a result for both.
Ministral 3 3B 2512 or Qwen3.6 27B: which to pick
Only Qwen3.6 27B has a coding score, 36.8 on the Vibe Coding Index; Ministral 3 3B 2512 has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Ministral 3 3B 2512 for output tokens 27.0x cheaper ($0.10 vs $2.70 per million).
- Shared results
- 3
- Ministral 3 3B 2512 only
- 4
- Qwen3.6 27B only
- 22
- Like-for-like categories
- 3 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
Only Qwen3.6 27B has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Qwen3.6 27B
Qwen3.6 27B leads, 21.4 against 4.8.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
Qwen3.6 27B
Qwen3.6 27B leads, 18.5 against 0.8.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Ministral 3 3B 2512 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1027.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Qwen3.6 27B
Qwen3.6 27B takes 262K tokens against 131K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Ministral 3 3B 2512
Ministral 3 3B 2512 $0.0001, Qwen3.6 27B $0.0018 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only Qwen3.6 27B has the number, $1.30.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- Ministral 3 3B 2512 not benchmarked, Qwen3.6 27B 36.8 from 2 benchmarks.
- Widest category
- Coding, 48.9 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Coding Index: Ministral 3 3B 2512 4.8 against Qwen3.6 27B 53.7, 48.9 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Ministral 3 3B 2512 $0.10 against Qwen3.6 27B $2.70 per million output tokens, 27.0x apart.
- Context window
- Ministral 3 3B 2512 takes 131K tokens, Qwen3.6 27B 262K.
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 | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Bars | Qwen3.6 27B | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 1 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Agentic work | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 3 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index01
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | 4.8 | 53.7 | Qwen3.6 27B |
| SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI) | Not measured | 70.0% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 11.9% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 42.8% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 34.8% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 38 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 4.8 | 21.4 | Qwen3.6 27B |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | Not measured | 146.2 | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 0.8 | 18.5 | Qwen3.6 27B |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 94.2% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 84.2% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 23.1% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | Not measured | 85.9% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Mystery game puzzles | Not measured | 7.0% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTIS Mock AIME | Not measured | 91.1% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| FrontierMath, tiers 1 to 3 | Not measured | 35.1% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 12 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| CaseLaw (Vals AI) | Not measured | 53.2% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| CorpFin (Vals AI) | Not measured | 62.3% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| TaxEval (Vals AI) | Not measured | 71.3% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| MortgageTax (Vals AI) | Not measured | 68.3% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1027 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 3B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 948 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 3B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 962 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 3B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1009 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 3B 2512 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 5 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAGE (Vals AI) | Not measured | 45.6% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| IFBench | Not measured | 67.6% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 77.3% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| DTBench | Not measured | 78.1% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| LMCA | Not measured | 34.5% | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| EQ-Bench 4 | Not measured | 1026 | Only Qwen3.6 27B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 42 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B | 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
Ministral 3 3B 2512 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Ministral 3 3B 2512 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Ministral 3 3B 2512 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 | Mistral Ministral 3 3B 2512 | Qwen3.6 27B |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Mistral AI | Qwen |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | December 2, 2025 | April 27, 2026 |
| Context window | 131K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.10 | $0.45 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.10 | $2.70 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | 36.8 |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 2 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | $1.30 |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Ministral 3 3B 2512 better than Qwen3.6 27B for coding?
Only Qwen3.6 27B has a coding score, 36.8 on the Vibe Coding Index; Ministral 3 3B 2512 has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Ministral 3 3B 2512 for output tokens 27.0x cheaper ($0.10 vs $2.70 per million).
Which is cheaper, Ministral 3 3B 2512 or Qwen3.6 27B?
Ministral 3 3B 2512 costs $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.10 per million output tokens; Qwen3.6 27B costs $0.45 and $2.70. Cost per solved task is known for Qwen3.6 27B only.
Which has the bigger context window, Ministral 3 3B 2512 or Qwen3.6 27B?
Qwen3.6 27B, with 262K tokens against 131K.
How many benchmarks is the Ministral 3 3B 2512 vs Qwen3.6 27B comparison based on?
3 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Ministral 3 3B 2512's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Qwen3.6 27B's on 2. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.