comparison
Mistral Medium 3.5 vs GLM 4.6
Token pricing, context window and real monthly cost, side by side. GLM 4.6 is the cheaper of the two for a typical workload — about 3.4× less.
Positioned by published specs — size, context and modality — not measured performance; a smaller model can sometimes outperform a larger one on your task.
GLM 4.6 and Mistral Medium 3.5 are the same class (Mid) on size & context, so they're plausible substitutes — decide on price, modality and provider fit.
| metric | Mistral Medium 3.5 | GLM 4.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Input / 1M | $1.50 | $0.50 |
| Output / 1M | $7.50 | $2.00 |
| Context | 262K | 205K |
| Technical class | Mid | Mid |
| Cost @ typical workload | $1,200/mo | $350/mo |
| Modality | text + image | Text only |
| Price source | list | routed |
| Provider | Mistral | Z.AI |
Snapshot . Cost uses a typical workload; tune it in the calculator. How we measure →
Which should you pick?
On a typical workload, GLM 4.6 costs $350/mo against Mistral Medium 3.5's $1,200/mo — roughly 3.4× 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, Mistral Medium 3.5 has the larger 262K-token window (~393 pages). Only Mistral Medium 3.5 accepts image input — decisive if your prompts include images. By technical class — a spec read of size and context, not measured capability — both are Mid, so this is a like-for-like price decision.
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 GLM 4.6 cheaper?
For a typical workload (1,500 input + 500 output tokens × 200,000 requests/month), GLM 4.6 costs $350/mo versus $1,200/mo for Mistral Medium 3.5 — about 3.4× 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 GLM 4.6?
On price, Mistral Medium 3.5 is $1.50/$7.50 per 1M (in/out) and GLM 4.6 is $0.50/$2.00. By technical class (size & context) they're the same — both Mid. Mistral Medium 3.5 has the larger context window at 262K tokens. Only Mistral Medium 3.5 accepts image input.
Why is GLM 4.6 so much cheaper than Mistral Medium 3.5?
GLM 4.6 has a much lower per-token rate — $2.00/1M output versus $7.50. The headline rate isn't the whole story, though: a verbose model can cost more to finish a task than its rate implies — that's what measured cost-per-task captures.
More comparisons
- GPT-5.5 vs Mistral Medium 3.5
- GPT-5.4 vs Mistral Medium 3.5
- Mistral Medium 3.5 vs GPT-5.4 mini
- GPT-5.4 mini vs GLM 4.6
- GLM 4.6 vs GPT-5.4 nano
- Claude Opus 4.8 vs Mistral Medium 3.5
Related
- Mistral Medium 3.5 and GLM 4.6 — full specs and price history.
- API cost calculator — compare on your own workload.
- All comparisons — the full head-to-head index.