ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Mistral Small 3 vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct comes out ahead, 72 to 50 on our weighted score, though Mistral Small 3 is 28% cheaper per token.

  1. Mistral AI

    Mistral Small 3

    Released Jan 30, 2025

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.05 / $0.08
    • Context33K
    Full specs Remove Mistral Small 3
  2. Our pick

    Microsoft

    Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

    Released Feb 26, 2025

    72/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.07 / $0.11
    • Context131K
    Full specs Remove Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is our pick

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 72/100 against Mistral Small 3 (50). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Mistral Small 3 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 priceMistral Small 3Mistral Small 3 $0.058 · Phi-4-multimodal-instruct $0.08 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextPhi-4-multimodal-instructPhi-4-multimodal-instruct 131,072 · Mistral Small 3 32,768 tokens
  • Widest inputsPhi-4-multimodal-instructMistral Small 3: Text · Phi-4-multimodal-instruct: Text, Images, Audio
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightMistral Small 3Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Price50%10098
Inputs & features30%060
Context window20%025
Overall100%50/10072/100

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 vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct specifications side by side
SpecificationMistral Small 3Mistral AIPhi-4-multimodal-instructMicrosoft
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions47.3%—
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics6.7%—
Price per million tokens
Input$0.05 (best)$0.07
Output$0.08 (best)$0.11
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.058 (best)$0.08
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 6 providersMedian of 1 providers
Limits
Context window32,768 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Max output16,384 tokens131,072 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoYes
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingNoYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpenMIT
API model ID——
API providers6 (best)1
ReleasedJan 30, 2025Feb 26, 2025
Knowledge cutoffOct 31, 2023Jun 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 Small 3$0.66
  • Phi-4-multimodal-instruct$0.92
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Mistral Small 3 or Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is the better all-round choice, scoring 72/100 against Mistral Small 3 (50). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Mistral Small 3 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 or Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Mistral Small 3 is cheaper at $0.05 input / $0.08 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs $0.07 input / $0.11 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.058 per million tokens for Mistral Small 3 versus $0.08 for Phi-4-multimodal-instruct (1.4× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Mistral Small 3 has not been scored yet and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Mistral Small 3 and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that Mistral Small 3 does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.

Which has the bigger context window?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has the largest context window at 131,072 tokens, against 32,768 for Mistral Small 3. Maximum output per response: Mistral Small 3 up to 16,384, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct up to 131,072 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Mistral Small 3 accepts text; Phi-4-multimodal-instruct accepts text, images and audio. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Yes, both publish their weights (MIT), so you can self-host them.

Which is newer?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is the newest, released Feb 26, 2025. Mistral Small 3 came out Jan 30, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Mistral Small 3 Oct 31, 2023, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct Jun 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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