Mistral Small 3 vs Kimi K3
Detailed technical comparison between Mistral Small 3 (Mistral) and Kimi K3 (Moonshot AI). Review live API token pricing, context window capabilities, time-to-first-token latency, and verified benchmark scores side-by-side.
Comparison Snapshot
Kimi K3
1,048,576 tokensTie
Equal CapabilityTie
Equal SpeedMistral Small 3
$0.10 / MTokMistral 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...
Kimi K3
Kimi K3 is a 2.8T parameter open-weight multimodal reasoning model from Moonshot AI. It is suited for complex coding, knowledge work, and long-horizon agentic workflows, and is particularly strong at...
Technical Specifications
🏆 = Superior Spec| Specification | Mistral Small 3 | Kimi K3 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Mistral | Moonshot AI |
| Context Window | 32,768 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens🏆 |
| Agent Suitability | 84/100 (est.) | Not yet benchmarked |
| Time to First Token (TTFT) | 120 ms (est.) | No public TTFT data |
| Deployment Model | managed api | managed api |
| Production Stability | Stable GA (est.) | Beta Access (est.) |
| API Available | Yes | Yes |
| Released Date | 2025-01-30 | 2026-07-16 |
API Pricing Comparison
Input Price per Million Tokens
Mistral Small 3
$0.10
Kimi K3
$3.00
Output Price per Million Tokens
Mistral Small 3
$0.30
Kimi K3
$15.00
💡 Cost Ratio: Mistral Small 3 is 30.0x cheaper per input token than Kimi K3.
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Run side-by-side prompt benchmarks in our dynamic multi-model Sandbox. Compare execution speeds, latency metrics, and compute actual costs in real-time.
Benchmark Performance Metrics
Standardized Scores (0–100%)Scores show verified raw accuracy percentages across standardized AI evaluation suites. Higher bars indicate superior performance in that domain.
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
Kimi K3 Quirks & Gotchas
No developer gotchas reported.
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