Gemma 3 4B IT vs Mistral Large 2.1
Gemma 3 4B IT comes out ahead, 52 to 38 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
GoogleGemma 3 4B IT
52/100- ECI115.8
- Price$0.05 / $0.10
- Context131K
Mistral AIMistral Large 2.1
38/100- ECI128.6
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context131K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Gemma 3 4B IT is our pick
Gemma 3 4B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 52/100 against Mistral Large 2.1 (38). It leads on price and inputs & features. Mistral Large 2.1 wins on capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityMistral Large 2.1Capabilities Index (ECI): Mistral Large 2.1 128.6 · Gemma 3 4B IT 115.8
- Lowest priceGemma 3 4B ITGemma 3 4B IT $0.063 · Mistral Large 2.1 $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameGemma 3 4B IT 131,072 · Mistral Large 2.1 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsGemma 3 4B ITGemma 3 4B IT: Text, Images · Mistral Large 2.1: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Gemma 3 4B IT | Mistral Large 2.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 34 | 50 |
| Price | 25% | 100 | 26 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 50 | 25 |
| Context window | 10% | 25 | 25 |
| Overall | 100% | 52/100 | 38/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Gemma 3 4B ITGoogle | Mistral Large 2.1Mistral AI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 115.8 | 128.6 (best) |
| ECI rank | #163 of 165 | #142 of 165 (best) |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 23.2% | 51.3% (best) |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 7.5% | 7.8% (best) |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.05 (best) | $2.00 |
| Output | $0.10 (best) | $6.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.063 (best) | $3.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 9 providers | Median of 2 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens (best) | 16,384 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 10 (best) | 2 |
| Released | Mar 12, 2025 | Nov 18, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Aug 2024 | Nov 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Gemma 3 4B IT$0.70
- Mistral Large 2.1$32.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Gemma 3 4B IT or Mistral Large 2.1?
Gemma 3 4B IT is the better all-round choice, scoring 52/100 against Mistral Large 2.1 (38). It leads on price and inputs & features. Mistral Large 2.1 wins on capability. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 4B IT or Mistral Large 2.1?
Gemma 3 4B IT is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.10 output per million tokens (median across 9 API providers). Mistral Large 2.1 costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.063 per million tokens for Gemma 3 4B IT versus $3.00 for Mistral Large 2.1 (48× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
Mistral Large 2.1 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Mistral Large 2.1 128.6 (#142 of 165) and Gemma 3 4B IT 115.8 (#163 of 165). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (124.3–130.7 vs 97.9–123.8), so the gap is a real one. On individual benchmarks: GPQA Diamond — Mistral Large 2.1 51.3%, Gemma 3 4B IT 23.2%; OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025 — Mistral Large 2.1 7.8%, Gemma 3 4B IT 7.5%.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Gemma 3 4B IT and Mistral Large 2.1 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Mistral Large 2.1 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?
Gemma 3 4B IT and Mistral Large 2.1 share the same 131,072-token context window. Maximum output per response: Gemma 3 4B IT up to 131,072, Mistral Large 2.1 up to 16,384 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Gemma 3 4B IT accepts text and images; Mistral Large 2.1 accepts text. Gemma 3 4B IT handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Gemma 3 4B IT is the newest, released Mar 12, 2025. Mistral Large 2.1 came out Nov 18, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Gemma 3 4B IT Aug 2024, Mistral Large 2.1 Nov 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 Nov 2, 2026.
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