Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite vs Mistral Small 4
Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite (2025) and Mistral Small 4 (2026) are compact production models from AI at Meta and MistralAI. Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite ships a 8k-token context window, while Mistral Small 4 ships a 256k-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite is ~50% cheaper at $0.10/1M; pay for Mistral Small 4 only for long-context analysis.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | tool-calling agents | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Agents, Classification, and JSON / Tool use | RAG, Agents, and Long context |
| Context window | 8k | 256k |
| Cheapest output | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.10/1M tokens.
- Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite for Agents, Classification, and JSON / Tool use.
- Mistral Small 4 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- 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.
Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite
$105
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Together AI
Mistral Small 4
$270
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Estimated monthly gap: $165. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite and Mistral Small 4; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Mistral Small 4 is $0.50/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Mistral Small 4 adds Vision and Multimodal in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mistral Small 4 and Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite is $0.50/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision and Multimodal before moving production traffic.
- Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-07-15 | 2026-03-16 |
| Context window | 8k | 256k |
| Parameters | 8B | 119B (6.5B active) |
| Architecture | decoder only | moe |
| License | Llama 3 Community | Apache 2.0(OSI) |
| Openness | Open weights | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use with conditions | Commercial use allowed |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-03 | 2025-06 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.15/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.10/1M tokens | $0.60/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | Yes | Yes |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| 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 vision: Mistral Small 4, multimodal input: Mistral Small 4, and structured outputs: Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite. 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, Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite lists $0.10/1M input and $0.10/1M 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 Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite lower by about $0.18 per million blended tokens. Availability is 1 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite when provider fit and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Small 4 when long-context analysis, larger context windows, 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, Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite or Mistral Small 4?
Mistral Small 4 supports 256k tokens, while Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite supports 8k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Which is cheaper, Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite or Mistral Small 4?
Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite costs $0.10/1M input and $0.10/1M 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 Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite or Mistral Small 4 open source?
Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite is listed under Llama 3 Community. 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, Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite 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, Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite 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 Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite and Mistral Small 4?
Together AI - Llama 3 8B Lite is available on Together AI. 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.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-19. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.