Mistral Small 4 vs Hy3
Mistral Small 4 comes out ahead, 64 to 58 on our weighted score, though Hy3 is 12% cheaper per token.
- Our pick
Mistral AIMistral Small 4
64/100- ECI—
- Price$0.15 / $0.60
- Context256K
TencentHy3
58/100- ECI—
- Price$0.132 / $0.53
- Context256K
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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 Hy3 (58). It leads on inputs & features. Hy3 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 priceHy3Hy3 $0.232 · Mistral Small 4 $0.263 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameMistral Small 4 256,000 · Hy3 256,000 tokens
- Widest inputsMistral Small 4Mistral Small 4: Text, Images · Hy3: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Mistral Small 4 | Hy3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 77 | 80 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 60 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 36 | 36 |
| Overall | 100% | 64/100 | 58/100 |
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 | Hy3Tencent |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.15 | $0.132 (best) |
| Output | $0.60 | $0.53 (best) |
| Cached input | $0.015 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.263 | $0.232 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Mistral API | Median of 15 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 256,000 tokens | 256,000 tokens |
| Max output | 256,000 tokens (best) | 128,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yeshigh | Yeshigh |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | mistral-small-2603 | hy3 |
| API providers | 16 | 18 (best) |
| Released | Mar 16, 2026 | Jul 6, 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
- Hy3$2.38
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Mistral Small 4 or Hy3?
Mistral Small 4 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Hy3 (58). It leads on inputs & features. Hy3 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 4 or Hy3?
Hy3 is cheaper at $0.132 input / $0.53 output per million tokens (median across 15 API providers; free on Tencent TokenHub). Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15 input / $0.60 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.232 per million tokens for Hy3 versus $0.263 for Mistral Small 4 (1.1× 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 Hy3 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Mistral Small 4 and Hy3 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 4 and Hy3 share the same 256,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Mistral Small 4 up to 256,000, Hy3 up to 128,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Mistral Small 4 accepts text and images; Hy3 accepts text. Mistral Small 4 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?
Hy3 is the newest, released Jul 6, 2026. Mistral Small 4 came out Mar 16, 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.
