ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Mistral Large 3 vs Mistral Large 2.1

Mistral Large 3 comes out ahead, 50 to 26 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Mistral AI

    Mistral Large 3

    Released Dec 2, 2025

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.50 / $1.50
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Mistral Large 3

  2. Mistral AI

    Mistral Large 2.1

    Released Nov 18, 2024

    26/100
    • ECI128.5
    • Price$2.00 / $6.00
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Mistral Large 2.1

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Mistral Large 3 is our pick

Mistral Large 3 is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against 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 priceMistral Large 3Mistral Large 3 $0.75 · Mistral Large 2.1 $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextMistral Large 3Mistral Large 3 262,144 · Mistral Large 2.1 131,072 tokens
  • Widest inputsMistral Large 3Mistral Large 3: Text, Images · Mistral Large 2.1: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightMistral Large 3Mistral Large 2.1
Price50%5627
Inputs & features30%5025
Context window20%3724
Overall100%50/10026/100

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 Mistral Large 2.1 specifications side by side
SpecificationMistral Large 3Mistral AIMistral Large 2.1Mistral AI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—128.5
ECI rank—#130 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—51.3%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics—7.8%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.50 (best)$2.00
Output$1.50 (best)$6.00
Cached input$0.05—
Blended (3:1)$0.75 (best)$3.00
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Mistral APIOfficial Mistral API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens (best)131,072 tokens
Max output262,144 tokens (best)16,384 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDmistral-large-2512mistral-large-2411
API providers13 (best)2
ReleasedDec 2, 2025Nov 18, 2024
Knowledge cutoffNov 2024Nov 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
  • Mistral Large 2.1$32.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Mistral Large 3 or Mistral Large 2.1?

Mistral Large 3 is the better all-round choice, scoring 50/100 against 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 3 or Mistral Large 2.1?

Mistral Large 3 is cheaper at $0.50 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). Mistral Large 2.1 costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (official Mistral 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 $3.00 for Mistral Large 2.1 (4× 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 Mistral Large 2.1 has an ECI of 128.5.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Mistral Large 3 and Mistral Large 2.1 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?

Mistral Large 3 has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 131,072 for Mistral Large 2.1. Maximum output per response: Mistral Large 3 up to 262,144, Mistral Large 2.1 up to 16,384 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Mistral Large 3 accepts text and images; Mistral Large 2.1 accepts text. Mistral Large 3 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?

Mistral Large 3 is the newest, released Dec 2, 2025. Mistral Large 2.1 came out Nov 18, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Mistral Large 3 Nov 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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