ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Mistral Large vs Hermes 3 405B Instruct

Mistral Large comes out ahead, 45 to 29 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Mistral AI

    Mistral Large

    Released Feb 26, 2024

    45/100
    • ECI122.0
    • Price$0.50 / $1.50
    • Context128K
  2. Nous Research

    Hermes 3 405B Instruct

    Released Aug 16, 2024

    29/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.00 / $1.00
    • Context131K
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01 — Verdict

Mistral Large is our pick

Mistral Large is the better all-round choice, scoring 45/100 against Hermes 3 405B Instruct (29). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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 LargeMistral Large $0.75 · Hermes 3 405B Instruct $1.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextHermes 3 405B InstructHermes 3 405B Instruct 131,072 · Mistral Large 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsMistral LargeMistral Large: Text, PDFs · Hermes 3 405B Instruct: Text
  • Self-hostingHermes 3 405B InstructPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightMistral LargeHermes 3 405B Instruct
Price50%5348
Inputs & features30%450
Context window20%2425
Overall100%45/10029/100

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 vs Hermes 3 405B Instruct specifications side by side
SpecificationMistral LargeMistral AIHermes 3 405B InstructNous Research
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)122.0—
ECI rank#153 of 165—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions38.8%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics1.9%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.50 (best)$1.00
Output$1.50$1.00 (best)
Cached input$0.05—
Blended (3:1)$0.75 (best)$1.00
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Mistral APIMedian of 5 providers
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Max output102,400 tokens (best)16,384 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesNo
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpen
API model IDmistral-large-latest—
API providers11 (best)5
ReleasedFeb 26, 2024Aug 16, 2024
Knowledge cutoffNov 30, 2024Dec 31, 2023
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$8.00
  • Hermes 3 405B Instruct$12.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Mistral Large or Hermes 3 405B Instruct?

Mistral Large is the better all-round choice, scoring 45/100 against Hermes 3 405B Instruct (29). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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 or Hermes 3 405B Instruct?

Mistral Large is cheaper at $0.50 input / $1.50 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). Hermes 3 405B Instruct costs $1.00 input / $1.00 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.75 per million tokens for Mistral Large versus $1.00 for Hermes 3 405B Instruct (1.3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Mistral Large has an ECI of 122.0 and Hermes 3 405B Instruct has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Mistral Large and Hermes 3 405B Instruct yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Hermes 3 405B Instruct does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Hermes 3 405B Instruct has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 128,000 for Mistral Large. Maximum output per response: Mistral Large up to 102,400, Hermes 3 405B Instruct up to 16,384 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Mistral Large accepts text and PDFs; Hermes 3 405B Instruct accepts text. Mistral Large handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Hermes 3 405B Instruct publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Mistral Large is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Hermes 3 405B Instruct is the newest, released Aug 16, 2024. Mistral Large came out Feb 26, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Mistral Large Nov 30, 2024, Hermes 3 405B Instruct Dec 31, 2023.

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.