Magistral Medium vs Ministral 3 8B
Magistral Medium vs Ministral 3 8B: Ministral 3 8B is cheaper for input-heavy usage ($0.15/M vs $2.00/M input tokens), while Ministral 3 8B is better for long-context tasks (256,000 tokens).
Direct answer: choose Ministral 3 8B for lower token spend and choose Ministral 3 8B when your workload needs longer context.
Compare input and output token pricing, context windows, and monthly cost estimates on one page so you can pick the cheaper model fast.
Cost Comparison (1000 input + 500 output tokens, 100 requests/day)
Magistral Medium
Ministral 3 8B
Cost Differences
Ministral 3 8B costs less than Magistral Medium
Quick Recommendation
Winner for direct API pricing: Ministral 3 8B. At the default workload, Ministral 3 8B saves about $12.825/month ($156.0375/year) versus Magistral Medium.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Magistral Medium | Ministral 3 8B |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Mistral AI | Mistral AI |
| Input Price | $2.00/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Output Price | $5.00/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Context Window | 128,000 tokens | 256,000 tokens |
| Max Output | 32,768 tokens | 32,768 tokens |
| Category | reasoning | efficient |
| Capabilities | textreasoning | textvision |
| Release Date | 12/15/2025 | 12/2/2025 |
Magistral Medium vs Ministral 3 8B: Which Should You Choose?
Choosing between Magistral Medium and Ministral 3 8B depends on your priorities: cost efficiency, context length, or raw capability. Ministral 3 8B is the more affordable option at $0.15/1M input tokens — 93% cheaper than Magistral Medium. Meanwhile, Ministral 3 8B offers a significantly larger context window at 256,000 tokens vs 128,000 for Magistral Medium.
These models target different tiers: Magistral Medium is a reasoning model while Ministral 3 8B is efficient. This means they're optimized for different workloads. Magistral Medium is built for complex tasks that require deeper reasoning, while Ministral 3 8B offers better value for routine operations.
Output costs matter too. Magistral Medium charges $5.00/1M output tokens vs $0.15 for Ministral 3 8B. For generation-heavy workloads (content creation, code generation, summarization), output pricing often dominates your bill. Ministral 3 8B has the edge here at $0.15/1M output tokens.
Multimodal capabilities: Ministral 3 8B supports vision (image inputs) while Magistral Medium is text-only. If your application needs image understanding, this narrows your choice.
Best Use Cases
Choose Magistral Medium when:
- • You're already using Mistral AI's API ecosystem
Choose Ministral 3 8B when:
- • Budget is a primary concern
- • You need a larger context window (256,000 tokens)
- • You're already using Mistral AI's API ecosystem
- • You're running high-volume, latency-sensitive workloads
Pros and Caveats at a Glance
Magistral Medium
- • Input pricing: $2.00/M tokens
- • Output pricing: $5.00/M tokens
- • Context window: 128,000 tokens
- • Max output: 32,768 tokens
Watch out for
- • Higher input cost than Ministral 3 8B
- • Higher output cost than Ministral 3 8B
- • Smaller context window than Ministral 3 8B
Ministral 3 8B
- • Input pricing: $0.15/M tokens
- • Output pricing: $0.15/M tokens
- • Context window: 256,000 tokens
- • Max output: 32,768 tokens
Watch out for
- • Trade-offs are minor in this matchup.
Try Different Scenarios
Use the calculator below to see how costs change with different usage patterns
Magistral Medium (Mistral AI)
Ministral 3 8B (Mistral AI)
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Sign Up for Mistral AI →Frequently Asked Questions
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