Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Mistral Large 2
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (2025) and Mistral Large 2 (2025) are compact production models from IBM Research and MistralAI. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ships a 128K-token context window, while Mistral Large 2 ships a 128K-token context window. On pricing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.03/1M input tokens versus $0.48/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is ~1500% cheaper at $0.03/1M; pay for Mistral Large 2 only for vision-heavy evaluation.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Granite 3.3 8B Instruct | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Decision fit | RAG, Agents, and Long context | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 128K | 128K |
| Cheapest output | $0.25/1M tokens | $2.4/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Granite 3.3 8B Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.25/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Granite 3.3 8B Instruct for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
- Mistral Large 2 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Mistral Large 2 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Mistral Large 2 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
$86.50
Cheapest tracked route: Replicate API
Mistral Large 2
$984
Cheapest tracked route: AWS Bedrock
Estimated monthly gap: $898. Batch, cache, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Mistral Large 2; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Mistral Large 2 is $2.15/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Mistral Large 2 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mistral Large 2 and Granite 3.3 8B Instruct; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is $2.15/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-03-01 | 2025-11-25 |
| Context window | 128K | 128K |
| Parameters | 8B | 123B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Apache 2.0 | True |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-04 | 2025-07 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Granite 3.3 8B Instruct | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.03/1M tokens | $0.48/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.25/1M tokens | $2.4/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Granite 3.3 8B Instruct | Mistral Large 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Mistral Large 2, multimodal input: Mistral Large 2, and structured outputs: Mistral Large 2. Both models share function calling and tool use, 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, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct lists $0.03/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens, while Mistral Large 2 lists $0.48/1M input and $2.4/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Granite 3.3 8B Instruct lower by about $0.96 per million blended tokens. Availability is 2 providers versus 4, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Granite 3.3 8B Instruct when provider fit and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Large 2 when vision-heavy evaluation and broader provider choice 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 has a larger context window, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Mistral Large 2?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports 128K tokens, while Mistral Large 2 supports 128K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Mistral Large 2?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.03/1M input and $0.25/1M output tokens. Mistral Large 2 costs $0.48/1M input and $2.4/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Mistral Large 2 open source?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is listed under Apache 2.0. Mistral Large 2 is listed under True. 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, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Mistral Large 2?
Mistral Large 2 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, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Mistral Large 2?
Mistral Large 2 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.
Where can I run Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Mistral Large 2?
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is available on NVIDIA NIM and Replicate API. Mistral Large 2 is available on OpenRouter, IBM watsonx, AWS Bedrock, and Mistral AI Studio. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-11. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.