Model comparison
Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) vs Grok 3
- Input
- $0.50 / 1M tokens (Magistral Small); $2.00 / 1M tokens (Magistral Medium)
- Output
- $1.50 / 1M tokens (Magistral Small); $5.00 / 1M tokens (Magistral Medium)
- Context
- 128K
- Released
- 2025-06-10
- Input
- $3.00 / 1M tokens
- Output
- $15.00 / 1M tokens
- Context
- 131K tokens (xAI API). xAI marketed a 1M-token capability for the model.
- Released
- 2025-02-17
Grok 3 scores higher on 2 of the 2 benchmarks both models report; Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) is cheaper on input tokens ($0.5 vs $3 per 1M, 6×); Grok 3 has the larger context window (131K vs 128K); Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) ships open weights while Grok 3 is API-only.
Specs and pricing side by side
| Spec | Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) | Grok 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | Mistral AI | xAI (Grok) |
| Released | 2025-06-10 | 2025-02-17 |
| Context window | 128K | 131K tokens (xAI API). xAI marketed a 1M-token capability for the model. |
| Max output | Not separately published; recommended working… | not published |
| Input price | $0.50 / 1M tokens (Magistral Small); $2.00 / 1M tokens (Magistral Medium) | $3.00 / 1M tokens |
| Output price | $1.50 / 1M tokens (Magistral Small); $5.00 / 1M tokens (Magistral Medium) | $15.00 / 1M tokens |
| Parameters | Magistral Small: 24B (≈23.6B). Magistral Medium: undisclosed (built on Mistral Medium 3). | not published |
| License | Magistral Small: Apache 2.0 (open weights). Magistral Medium: proprietary, API-only. | Proprietary |
| Weights | Open weights | API only |
| Modalities | Text | Textsame |
| Knowledge cutoff | Not disclosed by Mistral. | November 2024 |
Benchmarks both models report
| Benchmark | Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) | Grok 3 |
|---|---|---|
| AIME 2025 | 64.9% | 93.3% |
| GPQA Diamond | 70.8% | 84.6% |
Scores are as published by each maker or its cited source; harness, reasoning effort and date can differ between rows, so treat small gaps as ties. Sources are listed on each model page.
Which one should you pick?
Pick Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) if…
- Cost matters: input tokens cost 6× less ($0.5 vs $3 per 1M).
- You want to self-host or fine-tune (open weights, Magistral Small: Apache 2.0 (open weights). Magistral Medium: proprietary, API-only.).
- Your use case is: self-hosted, privacy-sensitive reasoning workloads using the open-weight Magistral Small.
Pick Grok 3 if…
- You care about AIME 2025, GPQA Diamond (it scores higher on 2 shared benchmarks).
- You need the longer context (131K vs 128K).
- Your use case is: math and competition-style problem solving with Think mode.
FAQ
Which is better, Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) or Grok 3?
Grok 3 scores higher on 2 of the 2 benchmarks both models report; Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) is cheaper on input tokens ($0.5 vs $3 per 1M, 6×); Grok 3 has the larger context window (131K vs 128K); Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) ships open weights while Grok 3 is API-only. The better pick depends on whether you value benchmark scores, price per token, context length or openness for your workload.
How much cheaper is Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium)?
Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium): $0.50 / 1M tokens (Magistral Small); $2.00 / 1M tokens (Magistral Medium) input, $1.50 / 1M tokens (Magistral Small); $5.00 / 1M tokens (Magistral Medium) output. Grok 3: $3.00 / 1M tokens input, $15.00 / 1M tokens output (list API prices as published by each maker).
What are the context windows of Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) and Grok 3?
Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) offers 128K with up to Not separately published; recommended working window is 40K tokens (performance may degrade beyond that, within the 128K maximum). output; Grok 3 offers 131K tokens (xAI API). xAI marketed a 1M-token capability for the model..
Is Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) newer than Grok 3?
Magistral 1.0 (Small & Medium) was released 2025-06-10; Grok 3 was released 2025-02-17.