DeepSeek vs Mistral
The short answer. The cheapest DeepSeek model we track, deepseek-flash, costs $1.20 per million output tokens and $0.300 per million input tokens. The cheapest Mistral model, Classifier API model (8B), costs $0.040 per million output tokens and $0.040 per million input tokens. At the entry level, Mistral is 30.0 times cheaper than DeepSeek on output tokens. Prices read on 11 September 2026 and 18 September 2026.
This page compares what DeepSeek and Mistral AI charge through their APIs. Every price below carries the day we read it and links to the page it came from. We do not rank quality: we tell you what each model costs, and since when.
At the top of each range
- Among DeepSeek models that carry a relayed score, the highest on the Artificial Analysis intelligence index is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, at 39.5, sold by OpenRouter at $0.600 per million output tokens.
- Among Mistral models that carry a relayed score, the highest on the Artificial Analysis intelligence index is Mistral Medium 3.5, at 14.9, sold by OpenRouter at $7.50 per million output tokens.
The index is produced by Artificial Analysis and relayed through OpenRouter's catalogue. It is not our measurement; we record it as a level 4 source and show it next to the price we read. A model without a score here has not been scored yet, which is not the same as scoring low.
Every model, side by side
DeepSeek models
2 standard offers, from the prices DeepSeek publishes itself.
| Model | Input | Output | Context | Read on | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| deepseek-flash | $0.300 | $1.20 | 1 000 000 | 11 September 2026 | DeepSeek |
| deepseek-v4-pro | $1.32 | $3.96 | 1 000 000 | 11 September 2026 | DeepSeek |
Mistral models
12 standard offers, from the prices Mistral AI publishes itself.
| Model | Input | Output | Context | Read on | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classifier API model (8B) | $0.040 | $0.040 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| Classifier API model (3B) | $0.100 | $0.100 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| Ministral 3 (3B) | $0.100 | $0.100 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| Ministral 3 (8B) | $0.150 | $0.150 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| Ministral 3 (14B) | $0.200 | $0.200 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| Voxtral Small | by content type | $0.400 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| Mistral Small 4 | $0.150 | $0.600 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| Codestral | $0.300 | $0.900 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| Mistral Large 3 | $0.500 | $1.50 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| GLM 5.2 (hosted by Mistral) | $1.40 | $4.40 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| GLM 5.3 (hosted by Mistral) | $1.40 | $4.40 | 17 September 2026 | Mistral AI | |
| Mistral Medium 3.5 | $1.50 | $7.50 | 18 September 2026 | Mistral AI |
How these prices have moved
We hold dated captures of these models' prices back to 26 March 2024. We did not observe these values ourselves: they were recovered from public captures of OpenRouter's catalogue, and each links to its capture so you can check it without trusting us. Largest moves on output price:
| Model | Before | After | Change | Captured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mistral: Mistral Nemo | $0.001 | $0.050 | +4900% | 14 July 2025 |
| Mistral: Devstral 2 2512 | $0.220 | $2.00 | +809% | 19 February 2026 |
| DeepSeek: R1 Distill Llama 70B | $0.110 | $0.800 | +627% | 19 February 2026 |
| Mistral: Mixtral 8x22B Instruct | $0.900 | $6.00 | +567% | 20 October 2025 |
| Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B | $0.110 | $0.560 | +409% | 19 February 2026 |
| Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B | $0.110 | $0.560 | +409% | 23 April 2026 |
Questions
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek or Mistral?
The cheapest DeepSeek model we track, deepseek-flash, costs $1.20 per million output tokens and $0.300 per million input tokens. The cheapest Mistral model, Classifier API model (8B), costs $0.040 per million output tokens and $0.040 per million input tokens. At the entry level, Mistral is 30.0 times cheaper than DeepSeek on output tokens. Prices read on 11 September 2026 and 18 September 2026.
What is the cheapest DeepSeek model?
deepseek-flash, at $1.20 per million output tokens, read on 11 September 2026.
What is the cheapest Mistral model?
Classifier API model (8B), at $0.040 per million output tokens, read on 18 September 2026.
Where do these prices come from?
From the price lists DeepSeek and Mistral AI publish, read by our collectors. No figure on this page was produced by a language model.