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Magistral Medium vs o3

Compare Mistral AI and OpenAI AI models

Mistral AI
Magistral Medium
vs
OpenAI
o3

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

Magistral Medium

Per Request:$0.004500
Daily:$0.45
Monthly:$13.50
Yearly:$164.25

o3

Per Request:$0.006000
Daily:$0.60
Monthly:$18.00
Yearly:$219.00

Cost Differences

+$0.001500
Per Request
+$0.15
Daily
+$4.50
Monthly
+$54.75
Yearly

o3 costs more than Magistral Medium

Feature Comparison

FeatureMagistral Mediumo3
ProviderMistral AIOpenAI
Input Price$2.00/1M tokens$2.00/1M tokens
Output Price$5.00/1M tokens$8.00/1M tokens
Context Window128,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens
Max Output32,768 tokens131,072 tokens
Categoryreasoningreasoning
Capabilities
textreasoning
textreasoningvisioncode
Release Date12/15/20254/16/2025

Magistral Medium vs o3: Which Should You Choose?

Choosing between Magistral Medium and o3 depends on your priorities: cost efficiency, context length, or raw capability. Magistral Medium is the more affordable option at $2.00/1M input tokens. Meanwhile, o3 offers a significantly larger context window at 1,000,000 tokens vs 128,000 for Magistral Medium.

These models come from different providers — Mistral AI and OpenAI — which means different API ecosystems, SDKs, rate limits, and terms of service. If you're already integrated with Mistral AI, switching to OpenAIinvolves migration effort beyond just pricing. Factor in your existing infrastructure when deciding.

Both models are in the reasoning category, making this a direct head-to-head comparison. At scale — say 10,000 requests per day — the cost difference adds up: Magistral Medium would save you roughly $450.00/month compared to o3. For startups and indie developers, that difference can be significant.

Output costs matter too. Magistral Medium charges $5.00/1M output tokens vs $8.00 for o3. For generation-heavy workloads (content creation, code generation, summarization), output pricing often dominates your bill. Magistral Medium has the edge here at $5.00/1M output tokens.

Multimodal capabilities: o3 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 o3 when:

  • • You need a larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
  • • You need more capabilities (vision, code)
  • • You need longer outputs (up to 131,072 tokens)
  • • You're already using OpenAI's API ecosystem

Try Different Scenarios

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

Magistral Medium (Mistral AI)

o3 (OpenAI)

Start using Magistral Medium today

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Start using o3 today

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is cheaper, Magistral Medium or o3?
Magistral Medium is cheaper for input tokens at $2.00 per million tokens vs $2.00 for o3.
What is the context window difference between Magistral Medium and o3?
Magistral Medium supports 128,000 tokens while o3 supports 1,000,000 tokens — a difference of 872,000 tokens in favor of o3.
Which model is better for AI Chatbot?
Both models support text. For ai chatbot, Magistral Medium is the lower-cost option, while o3 offers a larger context window (1,000,000 vs 128,000 tokens). Choose Magistral Medium for budget sensitivity or o3 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, Magistral Medium costs about $13.50/month and o3 costs about $18.00/month. Overall, Magistral Medium has lower combined input + output rates ($2.00 in, $5.00 out) vs o3.

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