Ultra-cheap multimodal model for massive-volume, low-complexity pipelines.
55
Coding
66
Writing
52
Research
65
Images
98
Value
50
Long Context
Use this when
Ultra-high-volume classification, summarisation, and lightweight vision tasks
Skip this if
Strengths
One of the cheapest models in the directory at $0.10/1M input
Multimodal — handles images alongside text at this price point
Fast and efficient for simple, well-defined tasks
Weaknesses
Weak on complex reasoning, hard coding, and nuanced writing
Not suitable for tasks requiring deep context retention or multi-step logic
Monthly cost estimate
See what Mistral Small 3.1 actually costs at your usage level
Input tokens / month1M
10k50M
Output tokens / month500k
10k25M
Input cost
$0.100
Output cost
$0.150
Total / month
$0.250
Based on Mistral Small 3.1 API pricing: $0.1/1M input · $0.3/1M output. Real costs vary by provider discounts and caching. Check the provider for exact current rates.
Price History
Mistral Small 3.1 pricing over time
Tracking since May 8, 2026 · more data builds daily
1 data point · tracked daily since May 8, 2026
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Start using Mistral Small 3.1
Ultra-high-volume classification, summarisation, and lightweight vision tasks. Start free — no card required.
Recommendations are made independently based on real-world use and public benchmarks. See our disclosures for details.
Compare alternatives
Similar models worth checking before you commit.
MistralBudget
Mistral: Mistral Medium 3.1
Mistral Medium 3.1 is a multimodal mid-tier model from Mistral that supersedes Mistral Large 2, offering vision capabilities alongside strong text performance at a significantly reduced price point. It targets the sweet spot between budget models and expensive flagships, with a 128K context window and competitive multilingual support.
Verdict
The best Mistral model for budget-conscious builders who still need multimodal capability and solid multilingual output.
Quality score
70%
Pricing
$0.40/1M in
$2.00/1M out
Speed
Change history
Pricing moves, ranking shifts, and capability updates.
PricingApr 30, 2026
Mistral Small 3.1 — output price increase
Mistral Small 3.1 output pricing changed from $0.11/1M to $0.56/1M (↑ more expensive, 409% increase).
Mistral Small 3.1 is best for ultra-high-volume classification, summarisation, and lightweight vision tasks. It is a strong fit when that workflow matters more than the tradeoffs around budget pricing and very fast speed.
When should I avoid Mistral Small 3.1?
You need reliable multi-step reasoning or coding quality — it won't hold up.
What is a cheaper alternative to Mistral Small 3.1?
Meta: Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is the lower-cost option to compare first when you want a similar workflow fit with less token spend.
What is a faster alternative to Mistral Small 3.1?
Mistral: Mistral Medium 3.1 is the better pick when response time matters more than maximum depth or premium quality.
Newsletter
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You need reliable multi-step reasoning or coding quality — it won't hold up.
Limited to simpler use cases compared to Codestral or DeepSeek V3
Fast
Best for cost-sensitive teams needing solid coding, instruction-following, and basic vision tasks without paying flagship prices.
Context
131k tokens
Officially supersedes Mistral Large 2, representing a generational shift in Mistral's lineup toward multimodal capability at lower cost tiers. Available via Mistral API and select cloud providers. No function calling limitations noted at this tier.
BudgetMultimodalMultilingualMid-tierVision
Best for
Cost-sensitive teams needing solid coding, instruction-following, and basic vision tasks without paying flagship prices.
Voxtral Small 24B is Mistral's audio-capable language model, designed for speech transcription, voice understanding, and spoken language tasks at a budget-friendly price point. It supersedes Mistral Small 3.1 with native audio input support built on a 24B parameter base.
Verdict
A purpose-built budget audio model that excels at voice tasks but stumbles on context length and general-purpose depth.
Quality score
47%
Pricing
$0.10/1M in
$0.30/1M out
Speed
Fast
Best for transcribing, analyzing, and responding to audio input cost-effectively without needing a separate speech-to-text pipeline.
Context
32k tokens
Voxtral Small is audio-in capable but does not support image input. The 32K context window is notably short for a 2025 model. Pricing is via Mistral's API; availability through third-party providers may vary. Check whether your use case requires audio input — the text-only version of Mistral Small 3.1 may be more appropriate for pure text workloads.
Audio AIBudgetMultilingualSpeechMistral
Best for
Transcribing, analyzing, and responding to audio input cost-effectively without needing a separate speech-to-text pipeline.
Gemini 3 Flash Preview is Google's budget-tier multimodal model optimized for high-throughput, low-latency tasks at scale. It offers a massive 1M token context window at aggressive pricing, making it a strong contender for cost-sensitive production workloads.
Verdict
A fast, affordable workhorse for long-context and high-volume tasks — just don't build critical systems on a Preview model.
Quality score
74%
Pricing
$0.50/1M in
$3.00/1M out
Speed
Very fast
Best for high-volume document processing, summarization pipelines, and long-context tasks where cost efficiency matters more than frontier-level reasoning.
Context
1.0M tokens
This is a preview model and may have limited availability, unstable rate limits, and pricing that changes before general availability. Output cost at $3/1M is notably higher than input cost, so applications generating long outputs should budget accordingly.
BudgetLong ContextFastMultimodalPreview
Best for
High-volume document processing, summarization pipelines, and long-context tasks where cost efficiency matters more than frontier-level reasoning.
