Mistral Small 4 vs DeepSeek OCR 2
Mistral Small 4 comes out ahead, 64 to 32 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
Mistral AIMistral Small 4
64/100- ECI—
- Price$0.15 / $0.60
- Context256K
DeepSeekDeepSeek OCR 2
32/100- ECI—
- Price$0.89 / $1.47
- Context8K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Mistral Small 4 is our pick
Mistral Small 4 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against DeepSeek OCR 2 (32). 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 Small 4Mistral Small 4 $0.263 · DeepSeek OCR 2 $1.03 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextMistral Small 4Mistral Small 4 256,000 · DeepSeek OCR 2 8,192 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsMistral Small 4: Text, Images · DeepSeek OCR 2: Text, Images
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Mistral Small 4 | DeepSeek OCR 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 77 | 49 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 0 |
| Overall | 100% | 64/100 | 32/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Mistral Small 4Mistral AI | DeepSeek OCR 2DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.15 (best) | $0.89 |
| Output | $0.60 (best) | $1.47 |
| Cached input | $0.015 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.263 (best) | $1.03 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Mistral API | Median of 1 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Max output | 256,000 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yeshigh | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | No |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | mistral-small-2603 | — |
| API providers | 16 (best) | 2 |
| Released | Mar 16, 2026 | Jan 27, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jun 2025 | — |
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 4$2.70
- DeepSeek OCR 2$11.83
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Mistral Small 4 or DeepSeek OCR 2?
Mistral Small 4 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against DeepSeek OCR 2 (32). 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 Small 4 or DeepSeek OCR 2?
Mistral Small 4 is cheaper at $0.15 input / $0.60 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). DeepSeek OCR 2 costs $0.89 input / $1.47 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.263 per million tokens for Mistral Small 4 versus $1.03 for DeepSeek OCR 2 (3.9× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Mistral Small 4 has not been scored yet and DeepSeek OCR 2 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Mistral Small 4 and DeepSeek OCR 2 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Note that DeepSeek OCR 2 does not support tool calling, which most coding agents need.
Which has the bigger context window?
Mistral Small 4 has the largest context window at 256,000 tokens, against 8,192 for DeepSeek OCR 2. Maximum output per response: Mistral Small 4 up to 256,000, DeepSeek OCR 2 up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Mistral Small 4 accepts text and images; DeepSeek OCR 2 accepts text and images. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Mistral Small 4 is the newest, released Mar 16, 2026. DeepSeek OCR 2 came out Jan 27, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Mistral Small 4 Jun 2025.
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.
