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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

DeepSeek-V3 vs Magistral Small 1.2

Too close to call on our weighted score (Magistral Small 1.2 53, DeepSeek-V3 50). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. DeepSeek

    DeepSeek-V3

    Released Dec 26, 2024

    50/100
    • ECI132.3
    • Price$0.32 / $1.10
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove DeepSeek-V3

  2. Mistral AI

    Magistral Small 1.2

    Released Sep 18, 2025

    53/100
    • ECI131.4
    • Price$0.50 / $1.50
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Magistral Small 1.2

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01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Magistral Small 1.2 53/100, DeepSeek-V3 50/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: DeepSeek-V3 for raw capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

  • CapabilityDeepSeek-V3Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek-V3 132.3 · Magistral Small 1.2 131.4
  • Lowest priceDeepSeek-V3DeepSeek-V3 $0.515 · Magistral Small 1.2 $0.75 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameDeepSeek-V3 131,072 · Magistral Small 1.2 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsMagistral Small 1.2DeepSeek-V3: Text · Magistral Small 1.2: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightDeepSeek-V3Magistral Small 1.2
CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI)50%5655
Price25%6456
Inputs & features15%2560
Context window10%2424
Overall100%50/10053/100
02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

DeepSeek-V3 vs Magistral Small 1.2 specifications side by side
SpecificationDeepSeek-V3DeepSeekMagistral Small 1.2Mistral AI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)132.3 (best)131.4
ECI rank#121 of 148 (best)#124 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions56.5% (best)47.6%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics15.8%28.1% (best)
Price per million tokens
Input$0.32 (best)$0.50
Output$1.10 (best)$1.50
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.515 (best)$0.75
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 5 providersMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window131,072 tokens131,072 tokens
Max output8,192 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenDeepSeek Model LicenseOpenApache 2.0
API model ID——
API providers5 (best)1
ReleasedDec 26, 2024Sep 18, 2025
Knowledge cutoff——
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • DeepSeek-V3$5.40
  • Magistral Small 1.2$8.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: DeepSeek-V3 or Magistral Small 1.2?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Magistral Small 1.2 53/100, DeepSeek-V3 50/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: DeepSeek-V3 for raw capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-V3 or Magistral Small 1.2?

DeepSeek-V3 is cheaper at $0.32 input / $1.10 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). Magistral Small 1.2 costs $0.50 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.515 per million tokens for DeepSeek-V3 versus $0.75 for Magistral Small 1.2 (1.5× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

DeepSeek-V3 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): DeepSeek-V3 132.3 (#121 of 148) and Magistral Small 1.2 131.4 (#124 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (127.5–135.5 vs 126.5–133.4), so treat the gap as small. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — DeepSeek-V3 56.5%, Magistral Small 1.2 47.6%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Magistral Small 1.2 28.1%, DeepSeek-V3 15.8%.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek-V3 and Magistral Small 1.2 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, DeepSeek-V3 leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

DeepSeek-V3 and Magistral Small 1.2 share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek-V3 up to 8,192, Magistral Small 1.2 up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

DeepSeek-V3 accepts text; Magistral Small 1.2 accepts text and images. Magistral Small 1.2 handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (DeepSeek Model License and Apache 2.0), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Magistral Small 1.2 is the newest, released Sep 18, 2025. DeepSeek-V3 came out Dec 26, 2024.

How do you decide the winner?

Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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