OpenAI vs Mistral — AI API Pricing
Compare all OpenAI and Mistral models side by side. Mistral offers 3-10x cheaper pricing with EU data sovereignty. OpenAI has 9 models from $0.08 to $30/M.
Pricing data verified: May 29, 2026
All Models Compared
Every OpenAI and Mistral model, ranked by input price.
| Model | Provider | Tier | Input (per 1M) | Output (per 1M) | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPT-oss 20B | OpenAI | Budget | $0.08 | $0.35 | 128K |
| GPT-oss 120B | OpenAI | Budget | $0.15 | $0.60 | 128K |
| GPT-4o mini | OpenAI | Budget | $0.15 | $0.60 | 128K |
| Mistral Small 4 | Mistral | Budget | $0.15 | $0.60 | 128K |
| GPT-5 mini | OpenAI | Budget | $0.25 | $2.00 | 272K |
| Mistral Large 3 | Mistral | Mid | $0.50 | $1.50 | 128K |
| GPT-5 | OpenAI | Premium | $1.25 | $10.00 | 272K |
| GPT-5.3 Codex | OpenAI | Mid | $1.75 | $14.00 | 400K |
| GPT-4o | OpenAI | Mid | $2.50 | $10.00 | 128K |
| GPT-5.5 | OpenAI | Premium | $5.00 | $30.00 | 1M |
| GPT-5.5 Pro | OpenAI | Premium | $30.00 | $180.00 | 1M |
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Which Should You Choose?
Budget Chatbot
High volume, short responses. Cost per message matters most. Need to keep monthly bills under $10.
Code Generation
Complex reasoning, longer outputs. Need accurate code generation with good context handling.
EU Data Sovereignty
GDPR compliance, data must stay in EU. Regulatory requirements for European operations.
Premium Reasoning
Multi-step reasoning, nuanced analysis, research tasks. Quality and accuracy are paramount.
High-Volume Processing
Classification, extraction, summarization at scale. Volume in millions of requests.
Startup MVP
Minimize costs while building. Need reliable API at the lowest price point to validate ideas.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mistral cheaper than OpenAI?
Yes, across the board. Mistral Small 4 ($0.15/$0.60 per 1M tokens) matches GPT-4o mini on input but offers better general capability. Mistral Large 3 ($0.50/$1.50) has cheaper output than GPT-5 mini ($0.25/$2.00). For open-source equivalents, Mistral is competitive with GPT-oss models but offers better EU data sovereignty.
What is the cheapest OpenAI vs Mistral option?
GPT-oss 20B at $0.08/$0.35 per 1M tokens is the cheapest OpenAI model. Mistral Small 4 at $0.15/$0.60 is slightly more expensive on input but comparable on output. For 10M tokens/month, GPT-oss 20B costs $4.75 vs $7.50 for Mistral Small 4. However, Mistral Small 4 has better general capability and EU hosting.
When should I choose OpenAI over Mistral?
Choose OpenAI when you need the widest model range (9 models from $0.08 to $30/M), premium reasoning (GPT-5.5, GPT-5.5 Pro), or specialized coding (GPT-5.3 Codex). OpenAI also has more tier granularity and a larger ecosystem. Choose Mistral for EU data sovereignty, lower output costs at the budget tier, and French company infrastructure.
Does Mistral have EU data sovereignty like OpenAI?
Yes. Mistral is a French company with EU-hosted infrastructure, making it the best choice for GDPR compliance and European data sovereignty requirements. OpenAI is US-based. If your workload requires EU data residency, Mistral is the clear choice regardless of pricing.
GPT-5 mini vs Mistral Large 3: which is better for chatbots?
GPT-5 mini ($0.25/$2.00) has a cheaper input but 3x more expensive output than Mistral Large 3 ($0.50/$1.50). For chatbots (output-heavy), Mistral Large 3 is cheaper overall. At 5K messages/day with 800 input + 200 output tokens: Mistral Large 3 costs $67.50/mo vs GPT-5 mini at $165/mo. GPT-5 mini has better reasoning quality though.