Mistral Small 3.2 24B vs Step 3.5 Flash
Updated October 21, 2026. No benchmark has tested both models yet. Coding is ranked on the Vibe Coding Index; every other board is shown as published.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $0.30
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- 17.0
- Output $/M
- $0.30
Decision reading
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
No benchmark has tested both yet. Mistral Small 3.2 24B has results on Design Arena: websites, Design Arena: UI components and Design Arena: game dev; Step 3.5 Flash on Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run), LMArena Text: coding and LMArena Text: software and IT. Compare them on price and context instead.
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
No call
Only Step 3.5 Flash has a AA Intelligence Index result, 17.0.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Mistral Small 3.2 24B has a Design Arena: websites result, 896.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash takes 262K tokens against 256K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
No call
Mistral Small 3.2 24B $0.0003, Step 3.5 Flash $0.0003 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- Mistral Small 3.2 24B not benchmarked, Step 3.5 Flash not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- None yet: no category has been tested on both models.
- Widest single gap
- None yet: no benchmark has tested both models.
- Output price
- Both cost $0.30 per million output tokens.
- Context window
- Mistral Small 3.2 24B takes 256K tokens, Step 3.5 Flash 262K.
Benchmark by benchmark
Every board either model has a result on, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale. Only one model is measured on each, so no row names a leader.
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index3 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 24B | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 32.6% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | Not measured | 1436 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | Not measured | 1434 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 35 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 24B | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | Not measured | 17.0 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 24B | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 94.4% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 38 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 24B | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 83.1% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 24.5% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | Not measured | 1411 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | Not measured | 1421 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | Not measured | 1421 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 24B | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: math | Not measured | 1408 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | Not measured | 1421 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 24B | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | Not measured | 1415 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | Not measured | 1408 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | Not measured | 1408 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | Not measured | 1394 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 13 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 24B | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 896 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3.2 24B measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 907 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3.2 24B measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 888 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3.2 24B measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 929 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3.2 24B measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 907 | Not measured | Only Mistral Small 3.2 24B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 4 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index19 boards measured
| Benchmark | Mistral Small 3.2 24B | Step 3.5 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | Not measured | 66.5% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 63.0% | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text | Not measured | 1403 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | Not measured | 1385 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | Not measured | 1357 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: English | Not measured | 1417 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | Not measured | 1385 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | Not measured | 1446 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: German | Not measured | 1405 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | Not measured | 1353 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | Not measured | 1351 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: French | Not measured | 1421 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | Not measured | 1419 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | Not measured | 1385 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: Polish | Not measured | 1389 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | Not measured | 1404 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | Not measured | 1402 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | Not measured | 1372 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | Not measured | 1360 | Only Step 3.5 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 27 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
Same cost
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Same cost
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Same cost
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 3.2 24B | StepFun Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Mistral AI | StepFun |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | June 20, 2025 | January 29, 2026 |
| Context window | 256K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.10 | $0.10 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.30 | $0.30 |
| 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 3.2 24B better than Step 3.5 Flash for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Compare them on price, context and the boards below.
Which is cheaper, Mistral Small 3.2 24B or Step 3.5 Flash?
Mistral Small 3.2 24B costs $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.30 per million output tokens; Step 3.5 Flash costs $0.10 and $0.30. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, Mistral Small 3.2 24B or Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash, with 262K tokens against 256K.
Has any benchmark tested both Mistral Small 3.2 24B and Step 3.5 Flash?
No benchmark has tested both yet. Mistral Small 3.2 24B has results on Design Arena: websites, Design Arena: UI components and Design Arena: game dev; Step 3.5 Flash on Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run), LMArena Text: coding and LMArena Text: software and IT. Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 21, 2026.