Falcon 180B vs Mistral Medium 3.5
Falcon 180B (2023) and Mistral Medium 3.5 (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Technology Innovation Institute (TII) and MistralAI. Falcon 180B ships a not-yet-sourced context window, while Mistral Medium 3.5 ships a 256K-token context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, Mistral Medium 3.5 leads by 12.4 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
Mistral Medium 3.5 is safer overall; choose Falcon 180B when provider fit matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Falcon 180B | Mistral Medium 3.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Decision fit | Coding and Classification | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | — | 256K |
| Cheapest output | - | $7.5/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 1 rows | Google-Proof Q&A leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Local decision data tags Falcon 180B for Coding and Classification.
- Mistral Medium 3.5 leads the largest shared benchmark signal on Google-Proof Q&A by 12.4 points.
- Mistral Medium 3.5 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Mistral Medium 3.5 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Mistral Medium 3.5 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.
Falcon 180B
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Mistral Medium 3.5
$3,075
Cheapest tracked route: Mistral AI Studio
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Falcon 180B and Mistral Medium 3.5; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Mistral Medium 3.5 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mistral Medium 3.5 and Falcon 180B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2023-11-28 | 2026-04-29 |
| Context window | — | 256K |
| Parameters | 180B | 128B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Apache 2.0 | Mistral License |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Falcon 180B | Mistral Medium 3.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $1.5/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $7.5/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Falcon 180B | Mistral Medium 3.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Falcon 180B | Mistral Medium 3.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 58.9 | 71.3 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Google-Proof Q&A has Falcon 180B at 58.9 and Mistral Medium 3.5 at 71.3, with Mistral Medium 3.5 ahead by 12.4 points. The largest visible gap is 12.4 points on Google-Proof Q&A, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Mistral Medium 3.5, multimodal input: Mistral Medium 3.5, reasoning mode: Mistral Medium 3.5, function calling: Mistral Medium 3.5, tool use: Mistral Medium 3.5, and structured outputs: Mistral Medium 3.5. Both models share the core language-model surface, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.
Pricing coverage is uneven: Falcon 180B has no token price sourced yet and Mistral Medium 3.5 has $1.5/1M input tokens. Provider availability is 2 tracked routes versus 2. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Falcon 180B when provider fit are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Medium 3.5 when reasoning depth are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.
FAQ
Is Falcon 180B or Mistral Medium 3.5 open source?
Falcon 180B is listed under Apache 2.0. Mistral Medium 3.5 is listed under Mistral License. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.
Which is better for vision, Falcon 180B or Mistral Medium 3.5?
Mistral Medium 3.5 has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for multimodal input, Falcon 180B or Mistral Medium 3.5?
Mistral Medium 3.5 has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for reasoning mode, Falcon 180B or Mistral Medium 3.5?
Mistral Medium 3.5 has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for function calling, Falcon 180B or Mistral Medium 3.5?
Mistral Medium 3.5 has the clearer documented function calling signal in this comparison. If function calling is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Falcon 180B and Mistral Medium 3.5?
Falcon 180B is available on Alibaba Cloud PAI-EAS and Scale AI GenAI Platform. Mistral Medium 3.5 is available on Mistral AI Studio and OpenRouter. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-19. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.