Mistral Large 2.1 vs North Mini Code vs Qwen2.5 32B Instruct
North Mini Code comes out ahead, 71 to 35 and 26 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Mistral AIMistral Large 2.1
26/100- ECI128.5
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context131K
- Our pick
CohereNorth Mini Code
71/100- ECI—
- PriceFree / Free
- Context256K
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen2.5 32B Instruct
35/100- ECI128.5
- Price$0.70 / $2.80
- Context131K
North Mini Code is our pick
North Mini Code is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Qwen2.5 32B Instruct (35) and Mistral Large 2.1 (26). It leads on price, 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 priceNorth Mini CodeNorth Mini Code Free · Qwen2.5 32B Instruct $1.23 · Mistral Large 2.1 $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextNorth Mini CodeNorth Mini Code 256,000 · Mistral Large 2.1 131,072 · Qwen2.5 32B Instruct 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsMistral Large 2.1: Text · North Mini Code: Text · Qwen2.5 32B Instruct: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Mistral Large 2.1 | North Mini Code | Qwen2.5 32B Instruct |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 27 | 100 | 46 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 45 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 24 | 36 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 26/100 | 71/100 | 35/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Mistral Large 2.1Mistral AI | North Mini CodeCohere | Qwen2.5 32B InstructAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 128.5 | — | 128.5 |
| ECI rank | #130 of 148 (best) | — | #131 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 51.3% (best) | — | 46.1% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 7.8% (best) | — | 7.4% |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $2.00 | Free (best) | $0.70 |
| Output | $6.00 | Free (best) | $2.80 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $3.00 | Free (best) | $1.23 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Mistral API | Official Cohere API | Official Alibaba API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 256,000 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 16,384 tokens | 64,000 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yeshigh | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | Yes | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Open | Open |
| API model ID | mistral-large-2411 | north-mini-code-1-0 | qwen2-5-32b-instruct |
| API providers | 2 (best) | 2 (best) | 1 |
| Released | Nov 18, 2024 | Jun 9, 2026 | Sep 17, 2024 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Nov 2024 | Sep 23, 2025 | Apr 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Mistral Large 2.1$32.00
- North Mini CodeFree
- Qwen2.5 32B Instruct$12.60
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Mistral Large 2.1, North Mini Code or Qwen2.5 32B Instruct?
North Mini Code is the better all-round choice, scoring 71/100 against Qwen2.5 32B Instruct (35) and Mistral Large 2.1 (26). It leads on price, 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, Mistral Large 2.1, North Mini Code or Qwen2.5 32B Instruct?
North Mini Code is cheaper at Free input / Free output per million tokens (official Cohere API price). Qwen2.5 32B Instruct costs $0.70 input / $2.80 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price); Mistral Large 2.1 costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). North Mini Code is listed as free.
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Mistral Large 2.1 has an ECI of 128.5, North Mini Code has not been scored yet and Qwen2.5 32B Instruct has an ECI of 128.5.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Mistral Large 2.1, North Mini Code and Qwen2.5 32B Instruct yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
North Mini Code has the largest context window at 256,000 tokens, against 131,072 for Mistral Large 2.1 and 131,072 for Qwen2.5 32B Instruct. Maximum output per response: Mistral Large 2.1 up to 16,384, North Mini Code up to 64,000, Qwen2.5 32B Instruct up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Mistral Large 2.1 accepts text; North Mini Code accepts text; Qwen2.5 32B Instruct accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, all three publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
North Mini Code is the newest, released Jun 9, 2026. Mistral Large 2.1 came out Nov 18, 2024; Qwen2.5 32B Instruct came out Sep 17, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Mistral Large 2.1 Nov 2024, North Mini Code Sep 23, 2025, Qwen2.5 32B Instruct Apr 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.
