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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

Qwen3 Coder Next vs Mistral Small 3.2

Mistral Small 3.2 comes out ahead, 64 to 51 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3 Coder Next

    Released Feb 3, 2026

    51/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.20 / $1.20
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3 Coder Next
  2. 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

  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 Qwen3 Coder Next (51). It leads on price and inputs & features. Qwen3 Coder Next wins on 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 3.2Mistral Small 3.2 $0.15 · Qwen3 Coder Next $0.45 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextQwen3 Coder NextQwen3 Coder Next 262,144 · Mistral Small 3.2 128,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsMistral Small 3.2Qwen3 Coder Next: Text · Mistral Small 3.2: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3 Coder NextMistral Small 3.2
Price50%6689
Inputs & features30%3550
Context window20%3724
Overall100%51/10064/100

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.

Qwen3 Coder Next vs Mistral Small 3.2 specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3 Coder NextAlibaba (Qwen)Mistral Small 3.2Mistral AI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)—131.7
ECI rank—#123 of 148
GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions—49.1%
OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics—30.3%
Price per million tokens
Input$0.20$0.10 (best)
Output$1.20$0.30 (best)
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$0.45$0.15 (best)
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 11 providersOfficial Mistral API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens (best)128,000 tokens
Max output65,536 tokens (best)16,384 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsOpenOpen
API model ID—mistral-small-2506
API providers11 (best)6
ReleasedFeb 3, 2026Jun 20, 2025
Knowledge cutoffSep 2025Mar 2025
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.

  • Qwen3 Coder Next$4.40
  • Mistral Small 3.2$1.60
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3 Coder Next or Mistral Small 3.2?

Mistral Small 3.2 is the better all-round choice, scoring 64/100 against Qwen3 Coder Next (51). It leads on price and inputs & features. Qwen3 Coder Next wins on 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, Qwen3 Coder Next or Mistral Small 3.2?

Mistral Small 3.2 is cheaper at $0.10 input / $0.30 output per million tokens (official Mistral API price). Qwen3 Coder Next costs $0.20 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (median across 11 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.15 per million tokens for Mistral Small 3.2 versus $0.45 for Qwen3 Coder Next (3× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3 Coder Next has not been scored yet and Mistral Small 3.2 has an ECI of 131.7.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 Coder Next and Mistral Small 3.2 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?

Qwen3 Coder Next has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 128,000 for Mistral Small 3.2. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 Coder Next up to 65,536, Mistral Small 3.2 up to 16,384 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3 Coder Next accepts text; Mistral Small 3.2 accepts text and images. 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?

Qwen3 Coder Next is the newest, released Feb 3, 2026. Mistral Small 3.2 came out Jun 20, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3 Coder Next Sep 2025, Mistral Small 3.2 Mar 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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