DeepSeek R1 vs Mistral Small 3
How do these models stack up? Below is an expert side-by-side comparison of specifications, context window capacity, live pricing per million tokens, and standardized benchmark scores for DeepSeek R1 and Mistral Small 3.
DeepSeek R1
A premier reasoning model employing large-scale reinforcement learning. Displays specialized math, coding, and logical validation capabilities comparable to OpenAI's o1.
Mistral Small 3
Mistral Small 3 is a 24B-parameter language model optimized for low-latency performance across common AI tasks. Released under the Apache 2.0 license, it features both pre-trained and instruction-tuned versions designed...
Technical Specifications
| Specification | DeepSeek R1 | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | Mistral |
| Context Window | 163,840 tokens | 32,768 tokens |
| Agent Suitability | 78/100 | 84/100 |
| Time to First Token (TTFT) | 1800 ms | 120 ms |
| Deployment Model | managed api | managed api |
| Production Stability | stable | stable |
| API Available | Yes | Yes |
| Released Date | 2025-01-20 | 2025-01-30 |
API Pricing Comparison
Input Price per Million Tokens
DeepSeek R1
$0.70
Mistral Small 3
$0.07
Output Price per Million Tokens
DeepSeek R1
$2.50
Mistral Small 3
$0.20
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Benchmark Performance Metrics
Scores show the raw performance percentages verified across key evaluation suites. Higher bars indicate superior accuracy and capability in that domain.
DeepSeek R1 Quirks & Gotchas
- ▸Reasoning model — not designed for high-frequency tool calling
- ▸Pair with a smaller model (V4 Flash) for routing and use R1 for complex reasoning only
Mistral Small 3 Quirks & Gotchas
- ▸Fastest TTFT at lowest cost — ideal for high-volume classification
- ▸Not designed for complex reasoning — route multi-step tasks to Mistral Large 3