Hunyuan Hy3 Preview vs Mistral Small 4
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview (2026) and Mistral Small 4 (2026) are frontier reasoning models from Tencent AI Lab and MistralAI. Hunyuan Hy3 Preview ships a 262k-token context window, while Mistral Small 4 ships a 256k-token context window. On Google-Proof Q&A, Hunyuan Hy3 Preview leads by 10.3 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview is ~127% cheaper at $0.07/1M; pay for Mistral Small 4 only for vision-heavy evaluation.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Hunyuan Hy3 Preview | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | RAG, Agents, and Long context |
| Context window | 262k | 256k |
| Cheapest output | $0.26/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 2 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | Google-Proof Q&A leader | 1 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview holds a shared-benchmark lead on Google-Proof Q&A, ahead by 10.3 points.
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.26/1M tokens.
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Hunyuan Hy3 Preview for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Mistral Small 4 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Mistral Small 4 uniquely exposes Vision and Multimodal in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Mistral Small 4 for RAG, Agents, and Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview
$118
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Mistral Small 4
$270
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $152. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Mistral Small 4 is $0.34/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Mistral Small 4 adds Vision and Multimodal in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview is $0.34/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision and Multimodal before moving production traffic.
- Hunyuan Hy3 Preview adds Reasoning in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-04-22 | 2026-03-16 |
| Context window | 262k | 256k |
| Parameters | 295B | 119B (6.5B active) |
| Architecture | dense moe hybrid | moe |
| License | Tencent Hunyuan Community License | Apache 2.0(OSI) |
| Openness | Open weights | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use allowed |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2025-06 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Hunyuan Hy3 Preview | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.07/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.26/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Hunyuan Hy3 Preview | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | No |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Hunyuan Hy3 Preview | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Google-Proof Q&A | 87.2 | 76.9 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, Google-Proof Q&A has Hunyuan Hy3 Preview at 87.2 and Mistral Small 4 at 76.9, with Hunyuan Hy3 Preview ahead by 10.3 points. The largest visible gap is 10.3 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 Small 4, multimodal input: Mistral Small 4, and reasoning mode: Hunyuan Hy3 Preview. 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, Hunyuan Hy3 Preview lists $0.07/1M input and $0.26/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Mistral Small 4 lists $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Hunyuan Hy3 Preview lower by about $0.16 per million blended tokens. Availability is 2 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Hunyuan Hy3 Preview when reasoning depth, larger context windows, and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Small 4 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.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Hunyuan Hy3 Preview or Mistral Small 4?
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview supports 262k tokens, while Mistral Small 4 supports 256k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Hunyuan Hy3 Preview or Mistral Small 4?
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Hunyuan Hy3 Preview costs $0.07/1M input and $0.26/1M output tokens. Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Hunyuan Hy3 Preview or Mistral Small 4 open source?
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview is listed under Tencent Hunyuan Community License. Mistral Small 4 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 vision, Hunyuan Hy3 Preview or Mistral Small 4?
Mistral Small 4 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, Hunyuan Hy3 Preview or Mistral Small 4?
Mistral Small 4 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 Hunyuan Hy3 Preview and Mistral Small 4?
Hunyuan Hy3 Preview is available on OpenRouter and Tencent Cloud TI Platform. Mistral Small 4 is available on OpenRouter, NVIDIA NIM, and Mistral AI Studio. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-06-07. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.