Ministral 3 8B 2512 vs Mistral Large
Mistral Large leads Ministral 3 8B 2512 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 5.8 to 5.5, and Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs 40.0x less per output token ($0.15 vs $6.00 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
Ministral 3 8B 2512 or Mistral Large: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Ministral 3 8B 2512 for output tokens 40.0x cheaper ($0.15 vs $6.00 per million) and a larger context window (262K against 128K tokens).
- Shared results
- 1
- Ministral 3 8B 2512 only
- 6
- Mistral Large only
- 43
- Like-for-like categories
- 1 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 Large
Mistral Large leads, 5.8 against 5.5.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.6.
Directional only
Reasoning
GPQA Diamond
No call
Only Mistral Large has a GPQA Diamond result, 47.7%.
Directional only
Math
AIME
No call
Only Mistral Large has a AIME result, 9.2%.
Directional only
Knowledge
MMLU Pro
No call
Only Mistral Large has a MMLU Pro result, 69.7%.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1065.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Ministral 3 8B 2512
Ministral 3 8B 2512 takes 262K tokens against 128K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Ministral 3 8B 2512
Ministral 3 8B 2512 $0.0002, Mistral Large $0.0050 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Ministral 3 8B 2512 not benchmarked, Mistral Large not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 0.3 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: Ministral 3 8B 2512 5.5 against Mistral Large 5.8, 0.3 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Ministral 3 8B 2512 $0.15 against Mistral Large $6.00 per million output tokens, 40.0x apart.
- Context window
- Ministral 3 8B 2512 takes 262K tokens, Mistral Large 128K.
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 8B 2512 | Bars | Mistral Large | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 1 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Mistral Large | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | 9.7 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 37.1% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 17.8% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | Not measured | 1275 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | Not measured | 1274 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 34 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Mistral Large | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 5.5 | 5.8 | Mistral Large |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | Not measured | 122.1 | Only Mistral Large measured |
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Mistral Large | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 0.6 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index6 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Mistral Large | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond | Not measured | 47.7% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 35.1% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 3.5% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | Not measured | 1257 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | Not measured | 1208 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | Not measured | 1268 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Mistral Large | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME | Not measured | 9.2% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| MATH 500 (Vals AI) | Not measured | 74.4% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| MGSM (Vals AI) | Not measured | 87.2% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: math | Not measured | 1261 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | Not measured | 1257 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 8 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index9 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Mistral Large | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro | Not measured | 69.7% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| TaxEval (Vals AI) | Not measured | 63.8% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| MedQA (Vals AI) | Not measured | 76.2% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 51.5% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| MMLU | Not measured | 68.8% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: science | Not measured | 1260 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | Not measured | 1255 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | Not measured | 1275 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | Not measured | 1238 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 9 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Mistral Large | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1065 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 990 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 1031 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1053 | Not measured | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 5 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index18 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Mistral Large | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| DTBench | Not measured | 60.8% | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text | Not measured | 1265 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | Not measured | 1249 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | Not measured | 1242 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: English | Not measured | 1284 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | Not measured | 1235 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | Not measured | 1239 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: German | Not measured | 1242 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | Not measured | 1170 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | Not measured | 1202 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: French | Not measured | 1325 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | Not measured | 1268 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | Not measured | 1252 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: Polish | Not measured | 1157 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | Not measured | 1260 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | Not measured | 1261 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | Not measured | 1261 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | Not measured | 1230 | Only Mistral Large measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 28 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Mistral Large | 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 8B 2512 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Ministral 3 8B 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 8B 2512 | Mistral Large |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Mistral AI | Mistral AI |
| Weights | Open weights | No public weights listed |
| Released | December 2, 2025 | February 26, 2024 |
| Context window | 262K | 128K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.15 | $2.00 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.15 | $6.00 |
| 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 Ministral 3 8B 2512 better than Mistral Large for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Ministral 3 8B 2512 for output tokens 40.0x cheaper ($0.15 vs $6.00 per million) and a larger context window (262K against 128K tokens).
Which is cheaper, Ministral 3 8B 2512 or Mistral Large?
Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.15 per million output tokens; Mistral Large costs $2.00 and $6.00. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Ministral 3 8B 2512 or Mistral Large?
Ministral 3 8B 2512, with 262K tokens against 128K.
How many benchmarks is the Ministral 3 8B 2512 vs Mistral Large comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Ministral 3 8B 2512's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Mistral Large's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.