GPT-5 mini vs Mistral Large 2
A complete head-to-head: pricing, context window, benchmarks, modality coverage, and openness, with a programmatic verdict synthesized from the underlying data.
Updated
GPT-5 mini specs · Mistral Large 2 specs- PriceGPT-5 mini
GPT-5 mini is roughly 3.0× cheaper on output tokens ($2.00 vs $6.00 per 1M).
- Context windowGPT-5 mini
GPT-5 mini accepts 400K tokens vs 128K, 3.1× the room for long documents and codebases.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesGPT-5 mini
GPT-5 mini supports 3 modalities (text, vision, audio) vs 1 for Mistral Large 2.
- OpennessMistral Large 2
Mistral Large 2 ships open weights (Mistral Research License); GPT-5 mini is API-only.
On balance GPT-5 mini edges ahead, winning 3 of 5 categories against Mistral Large 2's 1. GPT-5 mini is roughly 3.0× cheaper on output tokens ($2.00 vs $6.00 per 1M). GPT-5 mini accepts 400K tokens vs 128K, 3.1× the room for long documents and codebases.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, GPT-5 mini handles text, vision, audio while Mistral Large 2 handles text, which can be the deciding factor before you even look at benchmarks. Mistral Large 2 ships open weights (Mistral Research License); GPT-5 mini is API-only.
GPT-5 mini is the newer of the two, released 13 months after Mistral Large 2, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. GPT-5 mini is usually picked for code completion and customer support workloads, while Mistral Large 2 sees more deployments in coding llm and multilingual. If pricing matters more than every last benchmark point, run the numbers in the calculator below before committing.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GPT-5 mini | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | Mistral |
| Released | Aug 2025 | Jul 2024 |
| Modalities | text, vision, audio | text |
| Context window | 400K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Max output | 128K tokens | , |
| Input · 1M | $0.25 / 1M tokens | $2.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $2.00 / 1M tokens | $6.00 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-09 | 2024-04 |
| Open weights | No | Yes (Mistral Research License) |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
Pricing at scale
What you'd actually pay at typical workloads. Numbers come from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day$3.75 vs $15.00
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$37.50 vs $150
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$49.50 vs $336
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $3.75 vs $15.00 per month, model A comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $37.50 vs $150 per month, model A comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $49.50 vs $336 per month, model A comes out ahead.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- GPT-5 mini$0.125
- Mistral Large 2$0.500
Benchmarks compared
Only sourced numbers. Where a benchmark is missing for one model we show the available value rather than fabricating the other.
- MMLU,84.0
- HumanEval,92.0
GPT-5 mini fits when…
- Excellent price-quality ratio for production workloads
- Fast first-token latency
- Same tool-use API surface as flagship
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 3.0× cheaper than Mistral Large 2 on output tokens.
- Long-context tasks, handles 400K tokens vs 128K for Mistral Large 2.
Mistral Large 2 fits when…
- Strong code and math
- EU data residency
- Multilingual
- Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Mistral Research License).
Consider GPT-5.5
OpenAI's mid-cycle GPT-5 refresh, improved reasoning, tool use, and multimodal grounding over the 2025 launch.
Frequently asked
Is GPT-5 mini or Mistral Large 2 cheaper?
GPT-5 mini is cheaper at $2.00 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $6.00 / 1M tokens for Mistral Large 2.Which has the larger context window?
GPT-5 mini accepts 400K tokens vs 128K for Mistral Large 2.Is GPT-5 mini or Mistral Large 2 better for coding?
Both GPT-5 mini and Mistral Large 2 are competitive on coding benchmarks. See each model's individual spec page for HumanEval and SWE-bench scores where published. For an opinionated pick, consult our Best LLM for Coding ranking.Are either of these models open source?
Mistral Large 2 ships open weights (Mistral Research License). GPT-5 mini is API-only.When were GPT-5 mini and Mistral Large 2 released?
GPT-5 mini was released by OpenAI on 2025-08-07. Mistral Large 2 was released by Mistral on 2024-07-24.
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