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Codestral vs Mistral Medium 3

Compare Mistral AI and Mistral AI AI models

Mistral AI
Codestral
vs
Mistral AI
Mistral Medium 3

Cost Comparison (1000 input + 500 output tokens, 100 requests/day)

Codestral

Per Request:$0.000750
Daily:$0.075
Monthly:$2.25
Yearly:$27.375

Mistral Medium 3

Per Request:$0.001400
Daily:$0.14
Monthly:$4.20
Yearly:$51.10

Cost Differences

+$0.000650
Per Request
+$0.065
Daily
+$1.95
Monthly
+$23.725
Yearly

Mistral Medium 3 costs more than Codestral

Feature Comparison

FeatureCodestralMistral Medium 3
ProviderMistral AIMistral AI
Input Price$0.30/1M tokens$0.40/1M tokens
Output Price$0.90/1M tokens$2.00/1M tokens
Context Window128,000 tokens128,000 tokens
Max Output32,768 tokens16,384 tokens
Categorybalancedbalanced
Capabilities
textcode
textcode
Release Date7/30/20255/7/2025

Codestral vs Mistral Medium 3: Which Should You Choose?

Choosing between Codestral and Mistral Medium 3 depends on your priorities: cost efficiency, context length, or raw capability. Codestral is the more affordable option at $0.30/1M input tokens25% cheaper than Mistral Medium 3.

Both models are in the balanced category, making this a direct head-to-head comparison. At scale — say 10,000 requests per day — the cost difference adds up: Codestral would save you roughly $195.00/month compared to Mistral Medium 3. For startups and indie developers, that difference can be significant.

Output costs matter too. Codestral charges $0.90/1M output tokens vs $2.00 for Mistral Medium 3. For generation-heavy workloads (content creation, code generation, summarization), output pricing often dominates your bill. Codestral has the edge here at $0.90/1M output tokens.

Best Use Cases

Choose Codestral when:

  • • Budget is a primary concern
  • • You need longer outputs (up to 32,768 tokens)
  • • You're already using Mistral AI's API ecosystem

Choose Mistral Medium 3 when:

  • • You're already using Mistral AI's API ecosystem

Try Different Scenarios

Use the calculator below to see how costs change with different usage patterns

Codestral (Mistral AI)

Mistral Medium 3 (Mistral AI)

Start using Codestral today

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Start using Mistral Medium 3 today

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, Codestral or Mistral Medium 3?
Codestral is cheaper for input tokens at $0.30 per million tokens vs $0.40 for Mistral Medium 3 — that's 25% savings on input costs.
What is the context window difference between Codestral and Mistral Medium 3?
Codestral supports 128,000 tokens while Mistral Medium 3 supports 128,000 tokens — a difference of 0 tokens in favor of Codestral.
Which model is better for AI Chatbot?
Both models support text. For ai chatbot, Codestral is the lower-cost option, while Codestral offers a larger context window (128,000 vs 128,000 tokens). Choose Codestral for budget sensitivity or Codestral for longer context tasks.
Which model has better overall pricing for heavy usage?
At 100 requests/day with 1,000 input and 500 output tokens each, Codestral costs about $2.25/month and Mistral Medium 3 costs about $4.20/month. Overall, Codestral has lower combined input + output rates ($0.30 in, $0.90 out) vs Mistral Medium 3.

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