Mistral Small 4 vs Solar Mini 4
Solar Mini 4 leads Mistral Small 4 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 24.1 to 11.3, and Solar Mini 4 costs 3.0x less per output token ($0.20 vs $0.60 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 4 benchmarks have a result for both.
Mistral Small 4 or Solar Mini 4: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Mistral Small 4 for work measured by SciCode or AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 4
- Mistral Small 4 only
- 11
- Solar Mini 4 only
- 3
- Like-for-like categories
- 4 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
Solar Mini 4
Solar Mini 4 leads, 24.1 against 11.3.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Mistral Small 4 has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.8.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Solar Mini 4 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1159.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Solar Mini 4
Solar Mini 4 takes 524K tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Solar Mini 4
Mistral Small 4 $0.0004, Solar Mini 4 $0.0001 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Mistral Small 4 not benchmarked, Solar Mini 4 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- General, 33.7 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- Long context reasoning (AA-LCR): Mistral Small 4 49.7% against Solar Mini 4 83.3%, 33.7 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Mistral Small 4 $0.60 against Solar Mini 4 $0.20 per million output tokens, 3.0x apart.
- Context window
- Mistral Small 4 takes 262K tokens, Solar Mini 4 524K.
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 4 | Bars | Solar Mini 4 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 1 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 1 | ||
| General | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 4 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index01
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | 26.6 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 measured |
| SciCode | 38.8% | 47.6% | Solar Mini 4 |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 17.4% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 measured |
| ALE-Bench | 497.6 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 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 | Mistral Small 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 11.3 | 24.1 | Solar Mini 4 |
| 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 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | 0.8 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 41.2% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 39 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 76.9% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 9.9% | 25.8% | Solar Mini 4 |
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 40.5% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
MathNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 13 boards here | |||
KnowledgeNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 18 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1159 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 1109 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1150 | Only Solar Mini 4 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 4 | Solar Mini 4 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 48.2% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 49.7% | 83.3% | Solar Mini 4 |
| DTBench | 70.9% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 measured |
| LMCA | 20.6% | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 4 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 | Mistral Small 4 | Solar Mini 4 | 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
Solar Mini 4 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Solar Mini 4 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Solar Mini 4 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 4 | Upstage Solar Mini 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Mistral AI | Upstage |
| Weights | Open weights | No public weights listed |
| Released | March 16, 2026 | September 23, 2026 |
| Context window | 262K | 524K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.15 | $0.05 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.60 | $0.20 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 1 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Mistral Small 4 better than Solar Mini 4 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Mistral Small 4 for work measured by SciCode or AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, Mistral Small 4 or Solar Mini 4?
Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens; Solar Mini 4 costs $0.05 and $0.20. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Mistral Small 4 or Solar Mini 4?
Solar Mini 4, with 524K tokens against 262K.
How many benchmarks is the Mistral Small 4 vs Solar Mini 4 comparison based on?
4 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. Mistral Small 4's coding index rests on 1 independent benchmark and Solar Mini 4's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.