Grok 3 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
Grok 3 specs · Mistral Large 2 specs- PriceMistral Large 2
Mistral Large 2 is roughly 2.5× cheaper on output tokens ($6.00 vs $15.00 per 1M).
- Context windowTie
Both ship a 128K-token context window.
- BenchmarksTie
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores.
- ModalitiesGrok 3
Grok 3 supports 2 modalities (text, vision) vs 1 for Mistral Large 2.
- OpennessMistral Large 2
Mistral Large 2 ships open weights (Mistral Research License); Grok 3 is API-only.
On balance Mistral Large 2 edges ahead, winning 2 of 5 categories against Grok 3's 1. Mistral Large 2 is roughly 2.5× cheaper on output tokens ($6.00 vs $15.00 per 1M). Both ship a 128K-token context window.
No directly comparable public benchmarks are available for both models, check the spec sheets for individual scores. They differ in modality coverage, Grok 3 handles text, vision 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); Grok 3 is API-only.
Grok 3 is the newer of the two, released 7 months after Mistral Large 2, which usually means a more recent knowledge cutoff and updated safety post-training. Grok 3 is usually picked for chatbots and research agent 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 | Grok 3 | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | xAI | Mistral |
| Released | Feb 2025 | Jul 2024 |
| Modalities | text, vision | text |
| Context window | 128K tokens | 128K tokens |
| Max output | , | , |
| Input · 1M | $3.00 / 1M tokens | $2.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output · 1M | $15.00 / 1M tokens | $6.00 / 1M tokens |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-08 | 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$31.50 vs $15.00
- Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day$315 vs $150
- RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day$540 vs $336
Light usage, 100k in / 50k out per day: $31.50 vs $15.00 per month, model B comes out ahead. Heavy usage, 1M in / 500k out per day: $315 vs $150 per month, model B comes out ahead. RAG workload, 5M in / 200k out per day: $540 vs $336 per month, model B comes out ahead.
Estimated spend for the listed models at your usage. Numbers are derived from each model's published per-million-token rates.
- Grok 3$1.05
- 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
Grok 3 fits when…
- Real-time X access
- Reasoning modes
- Multimodal needs covering vision.
Mistral Large 2 fits when…
- Strong code and math
- EU data residency
- Multilingual
- Cost-sensitive workloads, 2.5× cheaper than Grok 3 on output tokens.
- Self-hosting and on-prem requirements, open weights (Mistral Research License).
Consider Grok 4
xAI's mid-2025 flagship, top scores on Humanity's Last Exam at launch, with native real-time X integration.
Frequently asked
Is Grok 3 or Mistral Large 2 cheaper?
Mistral Large 2 is cheaper at $6.00 / 1M tokens per million output tokens, vs $15.00 / 1M tokens for Grok 3.Which has the larger context window?
Both Grok 3 and Mistral Large 2 ship a 128K-token context window.Is Grok 3 or Mistral Large 2 better for coding?
Both Grok 3 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). Grok 3 is API-only.When were Grok 3 and Mistral Large 2 released?
Grok 3 was released by xAI on 2025-02-17. Mistral Large 2 was released by Mistral on 2024-07-24.
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