comparison
Mistral Medium 3.5 vs GPT-5.4 mini
Token pricing, context window and real monthly cost, side by side. GPT-5.4 mini is the cheaper of the two for a typical workload — about 1.8× less.
Positioned by published specs — size, context and modality — not measured performance; a smaller model can sometimes outperform a larger one on your task.
Mistral Medium 3.5 is one class larger (Mid vs Mini). Lean to the cheaper GPT-5.4 mini unless your task is demanding enough to need the larger class.
| metric | Mistral Medium 3.5 | GPT-5.4 mini |
|---|---|---|
| Input / 1M | $1.50 | $0.75 |
| Output / 1M | $7.50 | $4.50 |
| Context | 262K | 400K |
| Technical class | Mid | Mini |
| Cost @ typical workload | $1,200/mo | $675/mo |
| Modality | text + image | text + image |
| Price source | list | list |
| Provider | Mistral | OpenAI |
Snapshot . Cost uses a typical workload; tune it in the calculator. How we measure →
Which should you pick?
On a typical workload, GPT-5.4 mini costs $675/mo against Mistral Medium 3.5's $1,200/mo — roughly 1.8× cheaper. But the ranking depends on your output-to-input ratio: output is the pricier direction for both, so an output-heavy job (code generation, long answers) widens the gap while an input-heavy one (summarization, retrieval) narrows it. If you need to fit more in a single prompt, GPT-5.4 mini has the larger 400K-token window (~600 pages). By technical class (size and context, not measured capability), Mistral Medium 3.5 is a Mid and GPT-5.4 mini a Mini — so the lower price partly reflects a smaller class, not just a discount.
These are list and routed market prices, not measured outcomes. Two models at the same rate can still cost different amounts to finish the same task, because verbose or reasoning-heavy models emit more tokens. That gap is exactly what measured cost-per-task captures. The technical-class read above is likewise spec-based — size, context and modality, not measured performance — so a smaller model can still outperform a larger one on your specific task.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mistral Medium 3.5 or GPT-5.4 mini cheaper?
For a typical workload (1,500 input + 500 output tokens × 200,000 requests/month), GPT-5.4 mini costs $675/mo versus $1,200/mo for Mistral Medium 3.5 — about 1.8× less. Because output is priced higher than input, the winner can flip if your workload writes much more or less than this; check your own numbers in the calculator.
What's the main difference between Mistral Medium 3.5 and GPT-5.4 mini?
On price, Mistral Medium 3.5 is $1.50/$7.50 per 1M (in/out) and GPT-5.4 mini is $0.75/$4.50. By technical class (size & context) it's Mid (Mistral Medium 3.5) versus Mini (GPT-5.4 mini). GPT-5.4 mini has the larger context window at 400K tokens.
More comparisons
- GPT-5.5 vs GPT-5.4 mini
- GPT-5.5 vs Mistral Medium 3.5
- GPT-5.4 vs GPT-5.4 mini
- GPT-5.4 vs Mistral Medium 3.5
- GPT-5.4 mini vs GPT-5.4 nano
- GPT-5.4 mini vs gpt-oss-120b
Related
- Mistral Medium 3.5 and GPT-5.4 mini — full specs and price history.
- API cost calculator — compare on your own workload.
- All comparisons — the full head-to-head index.