Mistral Large 2 wins on coding (72 vs 58) and writing quality. Llama 4 Maverick wins on price ($0.6 vs $3/1M input) and context window (256K vs 128K). For most workflows, Mistral Large 2 is the stronger default — best balanced generalist for eu teams with data residency needs.
The shortest way to see the safest default, the lower-cost option, and the specialist pick before you read deeper.
Mistral Large 2 is the safest overall answer here when you want the strongest default instead of the lowest list price.
Switch the scoring lens to see whether the top answer changes when you care more about cost, speed, or long-document work.
Mistral / Balanced / Mar 27, 2026
Best balanced generalist for EU teams with data residency needs.
Ranks models by the broadest mix of coding, writing, research, and long-context usefulness.
You want best-in-class performance for any specific use case — the frontier leaders win.
The fastest way to see where the recommendation shifts when your priority changes.
Solid all-around performance with EU data processing
Good middle ground between cost, speed, and quality
Useful when you need a non-US-hosted frontier model
Not the best in any single benchmark category
Less community momentum than OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google
UseRightAI recommendations are based on practical decision factors people actually feel in day-to-day use.
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Mistral Large 2 wins on more categories — coding, writing, research. Llama 4 Maverick is the better pick when flexible self-hosted deployments and mixed general workloads. The right choice depends on your specific use case.
Llama 4 Maverick is cheaper at $0.6/1M input and $1.6/1M output. Mistral Large 2 costs $3/1M input and $9/1M output.
Llama 4 Maverick has the larger context window at 256K tokens vs Mistral Large 2's 128K. For large document analysis, Llama 4 Maverick is the stronger pick.
Mistral Large 2 is better for coding with a score of 72 vs Llama 4 Maverick's 58. For the highest coding quality available, Claude Sonnet 4.6 (79.6% SWE-bench) or Opus 4.6 (80.8%) remain benchmarks.
Llama 4 Maverick is faster with a fast speed rating (score: 4) vs Mistral Large 2's balanced rating (score: 3).
Meta: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is the lower-cost option to start with when you still need useful output at scale.
Llama 4 Maverick is the better pick when response speed matters more than maximum reasoning depth.
Mistral Large 2 leads on coding with a score of 72 vs 58 for Llama 4 Maverick.
Llama 4 Maverick has the larger context window: 256K vs 128K for Mistral Large 2.
Llama 4 Maverick is cheaper at $0.6/1M input tokens vs $3/1M for Mistral Large 2.
Choose Mistral Large 2 for coding and writing — balanced team usage with eu data residency requirements.
Choose Llama 4 Maverick when flexible self-hosted deployments and mixed general workloads.
Llama 4 Maverick is the more cost-efficient option at $0.6/1M — worth considering if token volume is a concern.
