ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Inkling Small vs Mistral Large 3

Inkling Small comes out ahead, 59 to 52 on our weighted score, though Mistral Large 3 is 6% cheaper per token.

  1. Our pick

    Thinking Machines

    Inkling Small

    Released Jul 30, 2026

    59/100
    • ECI150.5
    • Price$0.58 / $1.44
    • Context1.05M
    Full specs Remove Inkling Small

  2. Mistral AI

    Mistral Large 3

    Released Dec 2, 2025

    52/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.50 / $1.50
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Mistral Large 3

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Inkling Small is our pick

Inkling Small is the better all-round choice, scoring 59/100 against Mistral Large 3 (52). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceMistral Large 3Mistral Large 3 $0.75 · Inkling Small $0.795 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextInkling SmallInkling Small 1,048,576 · Mistral Large 3 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsInkling SmallInkling Small: Text, Images, Audio · Mistral Large 3: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightInkling SmallMistral Large 3
Price50%5253
Inputs & features30%7060
Context window20%6137
Overall100%59/10052/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

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

Inkling Small vs Mistral Large 3 specifications side by side
SpecificationInkling SmallThinking MachinesMistral Large 3Mistral AI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)150.5—
ECI rank#58 of 165—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions88.5%—
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics46.3%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics90.0%—
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions19.1%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.58$0.50 (best)
Output$1.44 (best)$1.50
Cached input$0.116$0.05 (best)
Blended (3:1)$0.795$0.75 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Thinking Machines APIOfficial Mistral API
Limits
Context window1,048,576 tokens (best)262,144 tokens
Max output1,048,576 tokens (best)262,144 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioYesNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningYeslow · medium · high · xhigh · maxNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsOpenApache-2.0Open
API model IDthinkingmachines/Inkling-Smallmistral-large-2512
API providers1217 (best)
ReleasedJul 30, 2026Dec 2, 2025
Knowledge cutoff—Nov 2024
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.

  • Inkling Small$8.68
  • Mistral Large 3$8.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Inkling Small or Mistral Large 3?

Inkling Small is the better all-round choice, scoring 59/100 against Mistral Large 3 (52). It leads on inputs & features and context window. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Inkling Small or Mistral Large 3?

Mistral Large 3 is cheaper at $0.50 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). Inkling Small costs $0.58 input / $1.44 output per million tokens (official Thinking Machines API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.75 per million tokens for Mistral Large 3 versus $0.795 for Inkling Small (1.1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Inkling Small has an ECI of 150.5 and Mistral Large 3 has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Inkling Small and Mistral Large 3 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

Inkling Small has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 262,144 for Mistral Large 3. Maximum output per response: Inkling Small up to 1,048,576, Mistral Large 3 up to 262,144 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Inkling Small accepts text, images and audio; Mistral Large 3 accepts text and images. Inkling Small handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

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

Which is newer?

Inkling Small is the newest, released Jul 30, 2026. Mistral Large 3 came out Dec 2, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Mistral Large 3 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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