ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Mistral Large 3 vs Inkling Small

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

  1. Mistral AI

    Mistral Large 3

    Released Dec 2, 2025

    52/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.50 / $1.50
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Mistral Large 3
  2. 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

  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 SmallMistral Large 3: Text, Images · Inkling Small: Text, Images, Audio
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightMistral Large 3Inkling Small
Price50%5352
Inputs & features30%6070
Context window20%3761
Overall100%52/10059/100

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.

Mistral Large 3 vs Inkling Small specifications side by side
SpecificationMistral Large 3Mistral AIInkling SmallThinking Machines
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—150.5
ECI rank—#58 of 165
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—88.5%
FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics—46.3%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics—90.0%
SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions—19.1%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.50 (best)$0.58
Output$1.50$1.44 (best)
Cached input$0.05 (best)$0.116
Blended (3:1)$0.75 (best)$0.795
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Mistral APIOfficial Thinking Machines API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens1,048,576 tokens (best)
Max output262,144 tokens1,048,576 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoYes
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYeslow · medium · high · xhigh · max
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpenApache-2.0
API model IDmistral-large-2512thinkingmachines/Inkling-Small
API providers17 (best)12
ReleasedDec 2, 2025Jul 30, 2026
Knowledge cutoffNov 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.

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

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Mistral Large 3 or Inkling Small?

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, Mistral Large 3 or Inkling Small?

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. Mistral Large 3 has not been scored yet and Inkling Small has an ECI of 150.5.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Mistral Large 3 and Inkling Small 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: Mistral Large 3 up to 262,144, Inkling Small up to 1,048,576 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Mistral Large 3 accepts text and images; Inkling Small accepts text, images and audio. 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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