Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 vs Mistral Small 3
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 (2025) and Mistral Small 3 (2025) are compact production models from NVIDIA AI and MistralAI. Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 ships a 4k-token context window, while Mistral Small 3 ships a 33k-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.
Mistral Small 3 fits 8x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps | tool-calling agents and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Vision | Agents, Classification, and JSON / Tool use |
| Context window | 4k | 33k |
| Cheapest output | - | $0.30/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 uniquely exposes Vision and Multimodal in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 for Vision.
- Mistral Small 3 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Mistral Small 3 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Mistral Small 3 uniquely exposes Function calling, Tool use, and Structured outputs 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.
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Mistral Small 3
$155
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Together AI
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 and Mistral Small 3; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision and Multimodal before moving production traffic.
- Mistral Small 3 adds Function calling, Tool use, and Structured outputs in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mistral Small 3 and Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Function calling, Tool use, and Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 adds Vision and Multimodal in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-03-01 | 2025-01-01 |
| Context window | 4k | 33k |
| Parameters | 8B | 24B |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Llama 3 Community | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Open weights | Open source |
| Weights | Unknown | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | 2023-10 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $0.30/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 | Mistral Small 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1, multimodal input: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1, function calling: Mistral Small 3, tool use: Mistral Small 3, and structured outputs: Mistral Small 3. 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: Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 has no token price sourced yet and Mistral Small 3 has $0.10/1M input tokens. Provider availability is 1 tracked routes versus 2. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 when vision-heavy evaluation are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Small 3 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, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 or Mistral Small 3?
Mistral Small 3 supports 33k tokens, while Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 supports 4k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Is Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 or Mistral Small 3 open source?
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 is listed under Llama 3 Community. 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 vision, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 or Mistral Small 3?
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 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, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 or Mistral Small 3?
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 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 function calling, Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 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.
Where can I run Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 and Mistral Small 3?
Llama 3.1 Nemotron Nano VL 8B v1 is available on NVIDIA NIM. 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: 2026-06-29. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.