Mistral Small 3.2 vs o3
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
o3 by OpenAI wins on 9 of 14 benchmarks against Mistral Small 3.2 by Mistral, which leads on 5. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from our benchmark data.
Category-by-Category Breakdown
General Intelligence: In general intelligence, o3 scores 1380 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Mistral Small 3.2's 1190, while o3 scores 84.0% on MMLU-Pro compared to Mistral Small 3.2's 58.0%.
Coding: In coding, o3 scores 90.0% on HumanEval+ compared to Mistral Small 3.2's 70.0%, while o3 scores 69.1% on SWE-bench Verified compared to Mistral Small 3.2's 20.0%, while o3 scores 70.0% on LiveCodeBench compared to Mistral Small 3.2's 24.0%.
Math: In math, o3 scores 96.0% on MATH compared to Mistral Small 3.2's 58.0%, while o3 scores 98.5% on GSM8K compared to Mistral Small 3.2's 80.0%.
Reasoning: In reasoning, o3 scores 83.3% on GPQA Diamond compared to Mistral Small 3.2's 30.0%, while o3 scores 75.7% on ARC-AGI compared to Mistral Small 3.2's 10.0%.
Context: In context, Mistral Small 3.2 scores 256K on Context Length compared to o3's 200K.
Pricing Comparison
Mistral Small 3.2 costs $0.07/1M input tokens and $0.20/1M output tokens, while o3 costs $2.0/1M input and $8.0/1M output. Mistral Small 3.2 is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Mistral Small 3.2 generates output at 160 tok/s compared to o3's 40 tok/s, and the time to first token is 120 ms for Mistral Small 3.2 versus 800 ms for o3. Mistral Small 3.2 delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
For developers prioritizing affordability and speed, Mistral Small 3.2 has the edge. For those who value coding and general intelligence and math, o3 is the stronger choice.
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Mistral Small 3.2 vs o3 — FAQ
Which is better, Mistral Small 3.2 or o3?
o3 wins on more benchmarks overall (9 vs 5). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Mistral Small 3.2 compare to o3 for coding?
o3 is better for coding, scoring 69.1% on SWE-bench Verified compared to 20.0%. SWE-bench tests real-world software engineering by resolving actual GitHub issues.
Is Mistral Small 3.2 cheaper than o3?
Yes, Mistral Small 3.2 is cheaper. Mistral Small 3.2 costs $0.07/1M input and $0.20/1M output tokens. o3 costs $2.0/1M input and $8.0/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Mistral Small 3.2 or o3?
Mistral Small 3.2 is faster, generating output at 160 tok/s compared to 40 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Mistral Small 3.2 vs o3 comparison cover?
This comparison covers 14 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, MMLU-Pro, HumanEval+, MATH, GPQA Diamond, SWE-bench Verified, Output Speed, LiveCodeBench, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.