Mistral Small 3 vs o3 Mini High
o3 Mini High leads Mistral Small 3 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 11.0 to 6.7, and Mistral Small 3 costs 55.0x less per output token ($0.08 vs $4.40 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
Mistral Small 3 or o3 Mini High: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Mistral Small 3 for output tokens 55.0x cheaper ($0.08 vs $4.40 per million) and work measured by AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 1
- Mistral Small 3 only
- 35
- o3 Mini High only
- 2
- 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
o3 Mini High
o3 Mini High leads, 11.0 against 6.7.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only o3 Mini High has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.9.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
o3 Mini High
o3 Mini High takes 200K tokens against 33K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Mistral Small 3
Mistral Small 3 $0.0001, o3 Mini High $0.0033 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Mistral Small 3 not benchmarked, o3 Mini High not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 4.3 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: Mistral Small 3 6.7 against o3 Mini High 11.0, 4.3 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Mistral Small 3 $0.08 against o3 Mini High $4.40 per million output tokens, 55.0x apart.
- Context window
- Mistral Small 3 takes 33K tokens, o3 Mini High 200K.
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 | Mistral Small 3 | Bars | o3 Mini High | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 1 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3 | o3 Mini High | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 16.3 | Only o3 Mini High measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 25.2% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1246 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1248 | Not measured | 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 | Mistral Small 3 | o3 Mini High | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 6.7 | 11.0 | o3 Mini High |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3 | o3 Mini High | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 0.9 | Only o3 Mini High measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 19.6% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 39 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3 | o3 Mini High | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 46.2% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 3.8% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1233 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1202 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1243 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 17 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3 | o3 Mini High | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | 4.3 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 4.3% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1240 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1243 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 9 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3 | o3 Mini High | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 65.2% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: science | 1235 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1215 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1219 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1205 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 13 boards here | |||
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3 | o3 Mini High | 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 | Mistral Small 3 | o3 Mini High | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 26.4% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text | 1234 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1214 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1194 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1256 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1198 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1204 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1211 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1111 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1188 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: French | 1204 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1216 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1217 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1246 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1214 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3 measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1184 | Not measured | 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 | Mistral Small 3 | o3 Mini High | 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 Small 3 | OpenAI o3 Mini High |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Mistral AI | OpenAI |
| Weights | Open weights | No public weights listed |
| Released | January 30, 2025 | February 12, 2025 |
| Context window | 33K | 200K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.05 | $1.10 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.08 | $4.40 |
| 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 Mistral Small 3 better than o3 Mini High for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Mistral Small 3 for output tokens 55.0x cheaper ($0.08 vs $4.40 per million) and work measured by AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Mistral Small 3 or o3 Mini High?
Mistral Small 3 costs $0.05 per million input tokens and $0.08 per million output tokens; o3 Mini High costs $1.10 and $4.40. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Mistral Small 3 or o3 Mini High?
o3 Mini High, with 200K tokens against 33K.
How many benchmarks is the Mistral Small 3 vs o3 Mini High comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Mistral Small 3's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and o3 Mini High's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.