Gemini vs Mistral
The short answer. The cheapest Gemini model we track, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite, costs $0.400 per million output tokens and an input price that depends on the type of content. 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 10.0 times cheaper than Gemini on output tokens. Prices read on 18 September 2026.
This page compares what Google 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 Gemini models that carry a relayed score, the highest on the Artificial Analysis intelligence index is Gemini 3.8 Flash, at 41.2, sold by OpenRouter at $3.75 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
Gemini models
12 standard offers, from the prices Google publishes itself.
| Model | Input | Output | Context | Read on | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite | by content type | $0.400 | 18 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite | by content type | $1.50 | 18 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini 2.5 Flash | by content type | $2.50 | 18 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | by content type | $2.50 | 18 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini 3 Flash Preview | by content type | $3.00 | 18 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini 3.6 Flash | $0.750 | $3.75 | 18 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini 3.7 Flash | $0.750 | $3.75 | 18 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.750 | $3.75 | 18 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini Robotics ER 1.6 Preview | by content type | $5.00 | 11 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini Robotics ER 2 Preview | by content type | $5.00 | 17 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini Robotics ER 2 Streaming Preview | by content type | $5.00 | 17 September 2026 | ||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | $1.50 | $9.00 | 18 September 2026 |
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 |
| 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 |
| Mistral: Mistral Small 3.1 24B | $0.027 | $0.072006 | +167% | 12 August 2025 |
Questions
Which is cheaper, Gemini or Mistral?
The cheapest Gemini model we track, Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite, costs $0.400 per million output tokens and an input price that depends on the type of content. 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 10.0 times cheaper than Gemini on output tokens. Prices read on 18 September 2026.
What is the cheapest Gemini model?
Gemini 2.5 Flash-Lite, at $0.400 per million output tokens, read on 18 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 Google and Mistral AI publish, read by our collectors. No figure on this page was produced by a language model.