ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Mistral Small 3.2 vs Phi-4-mini

Mistral Small 3.2 comes out ahead, 64 to 58 on our weighted score, though Phi-4-mini is 13% cheaper per token.

  1. Our pick

    Mistral AI

    Mistral Small 3.2

    Released Jun 20, 2025

    64/100
    • ECI131.7
    • Price$0.10 / $0.30
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Mistral Small 3.2

  2. Microsoft

    Phi-4-mini

    Released Dec 11, 2024

    58/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.075 / $0.30
    • Context128K
    Full specs Remove Phi-4-mini

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Mistral Small 3.2 is our pick

Mistral Small 3.2 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Phi-4-mini (58). It leads on inputs & features. Phi-4-mini wins on price. 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 pricePhi-4-miniPhi-4-mini $0.131 · Mistral Small 3.2 $0.15 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameMistral Small 3.2 128,000 · Phi-4-mini 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsMistral Small 3.2Mistral Small 3.2: Text, Images · Phi-4-mini: Text
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightMistral Small 3.2Phi-4-mini
Price50%8992
Inputs & features30%5025
Context window20%2424
Overall100%64/10058/100

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 Small 3.2 vs Phi-4-mini specifications side by side
SpecificationMistral Small 3.2Mistral AIPhi-4-miniMicrosoft
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)131.7—
ECI rank#123 of 148—
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions49.1%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics30.3%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.10$0.075 (best)
Output$0.30$0.30
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.15$0.131 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Mistral APIOfficial Azure API
Limits
Context window128,000 tokens128,000 tokens
Max output16,384 tokens (best)4,096 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model IDmistral-small-2506phi-4-mini
API providers6 (best)1
ReleasedJun 20, 2025Dec 11, 2024
Knowledge cutoffMar 2025Oct 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 Small 3.2$1.60
  • Phi-4-mini$1.35
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Mistral Small 3.2 or Phi-4-mini?

Mistral Small 3.2 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Phi-4-mini (58). It leads on inputs & features. Phi-4-mini wins on price. 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 Small 3.2 or Phi-4-mini?

Phi-4-mini is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official Azure API price). Mistral Small 3.2 costs $0.10 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.131 per million tokens for Phi-4-mini versus $0.15 for Mistral Small 3.2 (1.1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Mistral Small 3.2 has an ECI of 131.7 and Phi-4-mini has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Mistral Small 3.2 and Phi-4-mini 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 Small 3.2 and Phi-4-mini share the same 128,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Mistral Small 3.2 up to 16,384, Phi-4-mini up to 4,096 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Mistral Small 3.2 accepts text and images; Phi-4-mini accepts text. Mistral Small 3.2 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 Small 3.2 is the newest, released Jun 20, 2025. Phi-4-mini came out Dec 11, 2024. Knowledge cutoff: Mistral Small 3.2 Mar 2025, Phi-4-mini Oct 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 Oct 4, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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