OpenAI vs Mistral AI
OpenAI (97 models) vs Mistral AI (18 models) - compared across composite scores, pricing, capabilities, and context windows.
OpenAI
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View all modelsHead-to-Head: OpenAI vs Mistral AI Model Matchups
Capability Comparison
| Capability | OpenAI | Mistral AI | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
Vision | 78/97 | 10/18 | OpenAI |
Reasoning | 67/97 | 2/18 | OpenAI |
Function Calling | 89/97 | 16/18 | OpenAI |
JSON Mode | 95/97 | 17/18 | OpenAI |
Web Search | 76/97 | 0/18 | OpenAI |
Streaming | 95/97 | 18/18 | OpenAI |
Image Output | 4/97 | 0/18 | OpenAI |
Pricing Comparison
| Metric | OpenAI | Mistral AI |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest Input (per 1M tokens) | $0.025 gpt-oss-20b | $0.019 Mistral Nemo |
| Cheapest Output (per 1M tokens) | $0.130 | $0.030 |
| Most Expensive Input (per 1M tokens) | $150.00 o1-pro | $2.00 Mistral Medium 3.5 |
| Most Expensive Output (per 1M tokens) | $600.00 | $7.50 |
| Free Models | 1 | 0 |
| Max Context Window | 1.1M | 262K |
All OpenAI Models (97)
| Model | Score | Input $/M | Output $/M |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-5.5 Pro | 93 | $30.00 | $180.00 |
| GPT-5.5 Pro (batch) | 93 | $15.00 | $90.00 |
| GPT-5.5 | 93 | $5.00 | $30.00 |
| GPT-5.5 (batch) | 93 | $2.50 | $15.00 |
| GPT-5.4 Pro | 92 | $30.00 | $180.00 |
| GPT-5.4 Pro (batch) | 92 | $15.00 | $90.00 |
| GPT-5.4 | 92 | $2.50 | $15.00 |
| GPT-5.4 (batch) | 92 | $1.25 | $7.50 |
| GPT-5.3 Chat | 91 | $1.75 | $14.00 |
| GPT-5.3-Codex | 91 | $1.75 | $14.00 |
| GPT-5.2-Codex | 91 | $1.75 | $14.00 |
| GPT-5.2 Chat | 91 | $1.75 | $14.00 |
| GPT-5.2 Pro | 91 | $21.00 | $168.00 |
| GPT-5.2 Pro (batch) | 91 | $10.50 | $84.00 |
| GPT-5.2 | 91 | $1.75 | $14.00 |
| GPT-5.2 (batch) | 91 | $0.875 | $7.00 |
| GPT-5.6 Luna Pro | 89 | $0.100 | $0.600 |
| GPT-5.6 Luna Pro (batch) | 89 | $0.100 | $0.600 |
| GPT-5.6 Luna | 89 | $0.100 | $0.600 |
| GPT-5.6 Luna (batch) | 89 | $0.100 | $0.600 |
All Mistral AI Models (18)
| Model | Score | Input $/M | Output $/M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral Medium 3.5 | 72 | $1.50 | $7.50 |
| Mistral Large 3 2512 | 67 | $0.500 | $1.50 |
| Mistral Large 2407 | 66 | $2.00 | $6.00 |
| Mistral Large | 66 | $2.00 | $6.00 |
| Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | 63 | $2.00 | $6.00 |
| Mistral Small 4 | 40 | $0.150 | $0.600 |
| Ministral 3 14B 2512 | 40 | $0.200 | $0.200 |
| Ministral 3 8B 2512 | 40 | $0.150 | $0.150 |
| Ministral 3 3B 2512 | 40 | $0.100 | $0.100 |
| Voxtral Small 24B 2507 | 40 | $0.100 | $0.300 |
| Mistral Medium 3.1 | 40 | $0.400 | $2.00 |
| Codestral 2508 | 40 | $0.300 | $0.900 |
| Mistral Small 3.2 24B | 40 | $0.094 | $0.250 |
| Mistral Small 3.1 24B | 40 | $0.351 | $0.555 |
| Saba | 40 | $0.200 | $0.600 |
| Mistral Small 3 | 40 | $0.050 | $0.080 |
| Mistral Nemo | 40 | $0.019 | $0.030 |
| Mistral Medium 3 | 15 | $0.400 | $2.00 |
More Provider Comparisons
Compare any two AI providers side-by-side.
OpenAI's portfolio reflects a kitchen-sink approach with heavy model fragmentation - they offer 42 vision-capable models versus Mistral's focused 10, yet their average score of 49/100 barely exceeds Mistral's 40/100. This 39-model difference translates to extensive legacy model support and specialized variants, while Mistral maintains a leaner catalog focused on their core competencies.
Mistral's cheapest option delivers 2.75x better cost efficiency than OpenAI's entry point, though you sacrifice significant functionality - Mistral offers zero web search capabilities across all 25 models compared to OpenAI's 31/64 coverage. For pure text generation without advanced features, Mistral's pricing advantage is compelling, but OpenAI's cheapest models include 2 free options that Mistral doesn't match.
Mistral's strategy prioritizes function calling (88% model coverage at 22/25) over reasoning capabilities, making them ideal for structured API integrations rather than complex analytical tasks. With 14 open-source models versus OpenAI's 5, Mistral enables on-premise deployments and custom fine-tuning at a fraction of OpenAI's cost - their $6.00/M ceiling is 100x cheaper than OpenAI's $600.00/M premium tier.
OpenAI's 4.2x context advantage reflects their investment in long-document processing and multi-turn conversations, critical for enterprise RAG systems and code analysis. Mistral's 262K limit still exceeds most practical use cases while keeping costs down - their entire price range ($0.040-$6.00/M) fits below OpenAI's median pricing tier, suggesting different target markets.
The performance delta becomes critical for vision tasks where OpenAI offers 42 capable models versus Mistral's 10, and reasoning scenarios where OpenAI's 34-model coverage dwarfs Mistral's single option. However, for standard text generation and function calling (where Mistral covers 88% of their portfolio), Mistral Small 4 delivers comparable results at potentially 10-100x lower cost depending on your OpenAI tier selection.
Mistral commits 56% of their portfolio to open source versus OpenAI's token 7.8%, enabling self-hosted deployments without API dependencies or data privacy concerns. OpenAI's open models cluster in older generations while Mistral includes recent releases, though none of Mistral's open models include vision capabilities compared to OpenAI's limited open-source vision support.