Gemma 3 vs Mistral Small 3
Gemma 3 (2025) and Mistral Small 3 (2025) are compact production models from Google DeepMind and MistralAI. Gemma 3 ships a not-yet-sourced context window, while Mistral Small 3 ships a 33k-token context window. On pricing, Gemma 3 costs $0.04/1M input tokens versus $0.10/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Gemma 3 is ~150% cheaper at $0.04/1M; pay for Mistral Small 3 only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Gemma 3 | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | tool-calling agents and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Classification and JSON / Tool use | Agents, Classification, and JSON / Tool use |
| Context window | — | 33k |
| Cheapest output | $0.08/1M tokens | $0.30/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 3 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Gemma 3 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.08/1M tokens.
- Gemma 3 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Gemma 3 for Classification and JSON / Tool use.
- Mistral Small 3 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Mistral Small 3 uniquely exposes Function calling and Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Mistral Small 3 for Agents, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Gemma 3
$52.00
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Mistral Small 3
$155
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Together AI
Estimated monthly gap: $103. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Gemma 3 and Mistral Small 3; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Mistral Small 3 is $0.22/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Mistral Small 3 adds Function calling and Tool use in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mistral Small 3 and Gemma 3; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Gemma 3 is $0.22/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Function calling and Tool use before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-03-12 | 2025-01-01 |
| Context window | — | 33k |
| Parameters | — | 24B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Gemma | Apache 2.0(OSI) |
| Openness | Open weights | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use allowed |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-01 | 2023-10 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Gemma 3 | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.04/1M tokens | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.08/1M tokens | $0.30/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Gemma 3 | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on function calling: Mistral Small 3 and tool use: Mistral Small 3. Both models share structured outputs, 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.
For cost, Gemma 3 lists $0.04/1M input and $0.08/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Mistral Small 3 lists $0.10/1M input and $0.30/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Gemma 3 lower by about $0.11 per million blended tokens. Availability is 3 providers versus 2, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Gemma 3 when provider fit, lower input-token cost, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Small 3 when provider fit are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency.
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Gemma 3 or Mistral Small 3?
Gemma 3 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Gemma 3 costs $0.04/1M input and $0.08/1M output tokens. Mistral Small 3 costs $0.10/1M input and $0.30/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Gemma 3 or Mistral Small 3 open source?
Gemma 3 is listed under Gemma. Mistral Small 3 is listed under Apache 2.0. 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 function calling, Gemma 3 or Mistral Small 3?
Mistral Small 3 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.
Which is better for tool use, Gemma 3 or Mistral Small 3?
Mistral Small 3 has the clearer documented tool use signal in this comparison. If tool use is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for structured outputs, Gemma 3 or Mistral Small 3?
Both Gemma 3 and Mistral Small 3 expose structured outputs. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run Gemma 3 and Mistral Small 3?
Gemma 3 is available on OpenRouter, Google AI Studio, and GCP Vertex AI. Mistral Small 3 is available on Together AI and Vercel AI Gateway. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-22. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.