MiniMax M3 vs Mistral Small 4: cost per task
MiniMax M3 is cheaper on 8 of 14 tasks and about 1.1x cheaper on average (geometric mean).
| Task | MiniMax M3 | Mistral Small 4 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answer a chat question | 0.12¢ | 0.08¢ | 1.4x |
| Reply to a customer email | 0.07¢ | 0.22¢ | 3.3x |
| Write a 1,500-word blog post | 0.27¢ | 0.47¢ | 1.7x |
| Write 10 product descriptions | 0.21¢ | 0.19¢ | 1.1x |
| Translate 1,000 words | 0.73¢ | 0.75¢ | 1.0x |
| Proofread one page (500 words) | 0.15¢ | 0.26¢ | 1.7x |
| Summarize a 20-page PDF | 0.47¢ | 0.33¢ | 1.4x |
| Extract data from an invoice | 0.12¢ | 0.16¢ | 1.4x |
| Analyze a 200-row spreadsheet | 2.1¢ | 0.71¢ | 2.9x |
| Answer from 5 retrieved documents (RAG) | 0.26¢ | 0.25¢ | 1.1x |
| Classify 100 support tickets | 0.27¢ | 0.46¢ | 1.7x |
| Review 500 lines of code | 0.45¢ | 0.62¢ | 1.4x |
| Write a SQL query | 0.09¢ | 0.19¢ | 2.1x |
| Run a 50-step coding agent | 18¢ | 13¢ | 1.4x |
Specs and list prices
| MiniMax M3 | Mistral Small 4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input per 1M | $0.30 | $0.15 |
| Output per 1M | $1.20 | $0.60 |
| Cached input per 1M | $0.06 | $0.015 |
| Context | 1M | 262K |
| Providers | 14 | 4 |
| Reasoning | none | default |
| LMArena Text | 1441 | - |
| Released | May 31, 2026 | Mar 16, 2026 |
FAQ
Is MiniMax M3 or Mistral Small 4 cheaper?
MiniMax M3 is cheaper on 8 of 14 tasks and about 1.1x cheaper on average (geometric mean).
How much does MiniMax M3 cost compared to Mistral Small 4 per token?
MiniMax M3: $0.30 input and $1.20 output per 1M tokens. Mistral Small 4: $0.15 input and $0.60 output. Token prices alone mislead - models use different numbers of tokens for the same task, which is what the task table shows.