Llama Guard 3 1B vs Mistral Small 4
Llama Guard 3 1B (2024) and Mistral Small 4 (2026) are compact production models from AI at Meta and MistralAI. Llama Guard 3 1B ships a 128K-token context window, while Mistral Small 4 ships a 256K-token context window. On pricing, Llama Guard 3 1B costs $0.10/1M input tokens versus $0.15/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit.
Llama Guard 3 1B is ~50% cheaper at $0.10/1M; pay for Mistral Small 4 only for long-context analysis.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Llama Guard 3 1B | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | general production evaluation | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Long context and Classification | RAG, Agents, and Long context |
| Context window | 128K | 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
- Llama Guard 3 1B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.10/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Llama Guard 3 1B for Long context and Classification.
- 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, Multimodal, and Function calling 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 Guard 3 1B
$105
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Fireworks 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 Llama Guard 3 1B 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.
- Mistral Small 4 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mistral Small 4 and Llama Guard 3 1B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Llama Guard 3 1B is $0.50/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-09-25 | 2026-03-16 |
| Context window | 128K | 256K |
| Parameters | 1B | 119B (6.5B active) |
| Architecture | decoder only | moe |
| License | Open Source | Apache 2.0 |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2023-12 | 2025-06 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Llama Guard 3 1B | 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 | Llama Guard 3 1B | Mistral Small 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | No | Yes |
| Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | No | 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, function calling: Mistral Small 4, and tool use: Mistral Small 4. 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.
For cost, Llama Guard 3 1B 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 Llama Guard 3 1B lower by about $0.18 per million blended tokens. Availability is 1 providers versus 3, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Llama Guard 3 1B 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. This keeps the decision grounded in measurable tradeoffs instead of brand-level assumptions.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Llama Guard 3 1B or Mistral Small 4?
Mistral Small 4 supports 256K tokens, while Llama Guard 3 1B 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, Llama Guard 3 1B or Mistral Small 4?
Llama Guard 3 1B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Llama Guard 3 1B 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 Llama Guard 3 1B or Mistral Small 4 open source?
Llama Guard 3 1B is listed under Open Source. 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 Guard 3 1B 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, Llama Guard 3 1B 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 Llama Guard 3 1B and Mistral Small 4?
Llama Guard 3 1B is available on Fireworks 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.