Saba vs Mistral Small 3
Mistral Small 3 leads Saba on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 6.7 to 6.5, and Mistral Small 3 costs 7.5x less per output token ($0.08 vs $0.60 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 4 benchmarks have a result for both.
Saba or Mistral Small 3: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Saba for work measured by AA Intelligence Index or GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
- Shared results
- 4
- Saba only
- 0
- Mistral Small 3 only
- 32
- 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
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Mistral Small 3
Mistral Small 3 leads, 6.7 against 6.5.
Same board, both measured
Long documents
Listed context window
No call
Both take 33K tokens.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Mistral Small 3
Saba $0.0005, Mistral Small 3 $0.0001 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Saba not benchmarked, Mistral Small 3 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Knowledge, 4.1 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run): Saba 61.1% against Mistral Small 3 65.2%, 4.1 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Saba $0.60 against Mistral Small 3 $0.08 per million output tokens, 7.5x apart.
- Context window
- Both take 33K tokens.
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 | Saba | Bars | Mistral Small 3 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 1 | 1 | ||
| Knowledge | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 3 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Saba | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 25.2% | Only Mistral Small 3 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 35 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Saba | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 6.5 | 6.7 | Mistral Small 3 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | Saba | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 19.6% | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 38 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index11
| Benchmark | Saba | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 42.4% | 46.2% | Mistral Small 3 |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.3% | 3.8% | Saba |
| 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 16 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Saba | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | Not measured | 4.3 | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 4.3% | Only Mistral Small 3 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 | Saba | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 61.1% | 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 12 boards here | |||
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Saba | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 9 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index17 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Saba | Mistral Small 3 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | Not measured | 26.4% | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 0.0% | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| 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 29 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Saba | 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
Mistral Small 3 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Mistral Small 3 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Mistral Small 3 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 Saba | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Mistral AI | Mistral AI |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | February 17, 2025 | January 30, 2025 |
| Context window | 33K | 33K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.20 | $0.05 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.60 | $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 Saba better than Mistral Small 3 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Saba for work measured by AA Intelligence Index or GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run), where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Saba or Mistral Small 3?
Saba costs $0.20 per million input tokens and $0.60 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, Saba or Mistral Small 3?
Neither: both take 33K tokens.
How many benchmarks is the Saba vs Mistral Small 3 comparison based on?
4 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Saba'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.