Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 vs Mistral Small 4
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 (2025) and Mistral Small 4 (2026) are general-purpose language models from AI at Meta and MistralAI. Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 ships a 1m-token context window, while Mistral Small 4 ships a 256k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 leads by 2.5 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
Mistral Small 4 is ~50% cheaper at $0.10/1M; pay for Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 only for long-context analysis.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps, long-context analysis, 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 | 1m | 256k |
| Cheapest output | $0.60/1M tokens | $0.30/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 10 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | MMLU PRO leader | 4 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 2.5 points.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- Mistral Small 4 holds a shared-benchmark lead on Google-Proof Q&A, ahead by 9.8 points.
- Mistral Small 4 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.30/1M tokens.
- Mistral Small 4 uniquely exposes Function calling and Tool use 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.
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8
$270
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Mistral Small 4
$155
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Mistral AI Studio
Estimated monthly gap: $115. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Mistral Small 4 is $0.30/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Mistral Small 4 adds Function calling and Tool use in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter and NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is $0.30/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Function calling and Tool use before moving production traffic.
- Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-04-05 | 2026-03-16 |
| Context window | 1m | 256k |
| Parameters | 400B (17B active) | 119B (6.5B active) |
| Architecture | Mixture of Experts | Mixture of Experts |
| License | Llama 4 Community | Apache 2.0OSI-approved |
| Openness | Open weights | Open source |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-08 | 2025-06 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.15/1M tokens | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.60/1M tokens | $0.30/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | No |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| MMLU PRO | 80.5 | 78.0 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 67.1 | 76.9 |
| τ-bench | 68.5 | 65.8 |
| MMMU Pro | 59.6 | 60.0 |
Deep dive
On shared benchmark coverage, MMLU PRO has Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 at 80.5 and Mistral Small 4 at 78, with Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 ahead by 2.5 points; Google-Proof Q&A has Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 at 67.1 and Mistral Small 4 at 76.9, with Mistral Small 4 ahead by 9.8 points; τ-bench has Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 at 68.5 and Mistral Small 4 at 65.8, with Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 ahead by 2.7 points. The largest visible gap is 9.8 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 function calling: Mistral Small 4, tool use: Mistral Small 4, and structured outputs: Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8. Both models share vision and multimodal input, 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, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 lists $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Mistral Small 4 lists $0.10/1M input and $0.30/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Mistral Small 4 lower by about $0.13 per million blended tokens. Availability is 10 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and broader provider choice are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Small 4 when vision-heavy evaluation and lower input-token cost 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 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Mistral Small 4?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 supports 1m 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, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Mistral Small 4?
Mistral Small 4 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 costs $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens. Mistral Small 4 costs $0.10/1M input and $0.30/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Mistral Small 4 open source?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is listed under Llama 4 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, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Mistral Small 4?
Both Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 and Mistral Small 4 expose vision. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Which is better for multimodal input, Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 or Mistral Small 4?
Both Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 and Mistral Small 4 expose multimodal input. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 and Mistral Small 4?
Llama 4 Maverick 17B Instruct FP8 is available on Microsoft Foundry, Together AI, OpenRouter, Fireworks AI, and DeepInfra. 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: 2026-06-15. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.