Magistral Small 2506 vs Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct
Magistral Small 2506 (2025) and Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct (2025) are frontier reasoning models from MistralAI. Magistral Small 2506 ships a 128K-token context window, while Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct ships a 128K-token context window. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing. The goal is to make the tradeoff clear before deeper testing.
Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct is safer overall; choose Magistral Small 2506 when reasoning depth matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Magistral Small 2506 | Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Decision fit | Long context | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 128K | 128K |
| Cheapest output | - | $1.5/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 4 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Magistral Small 2506 uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Magistral Small 2506 for Long context.
- Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output prices on this page.
Magistral Small 2506
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct
$775
Cheapest tracked route: AWS Bedrock
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Magistral Small 2506 adds Reasoning in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-06-10 | 2025-12-01 |
| Context window | 128K | 128K |
| Parameters | — | 675B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | 1 | 1 |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-06 | 2024-11 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Magistral Small 2506 | Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $0.5/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $1.5/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Magistral Small 2506 | Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Function calling | No | No |
| Tool use | No | No |
| Structured outputs | No | Yes |
| Code execution | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on reasoning mode: Magistral Small 2506 and structured outputs: Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct. 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: Magistral Small 2506 has no token price sourced yet and Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct has $0.5/1M input tokens. Provider availability is 1 tracked routes versus 4. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Magistral Small 2506 when reasoning depth are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct when provider fit 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. It also helps separate model capability from provider packaging, which can change cost and latency.
FAQ
Which has a larger context window, Magistral Small 2506 or Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct?
Magistral Small 2506 supports 128K tokens, while Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct supports 128K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.
Is Magistral Small 2506 or Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct open source?
Magistral Small 2506 is listed under 1. Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct is listed under 1. 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 reasoning mode, Magistral Small 2506 or Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct?
Magistral Small 2506 has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Which is better for structured outputs, Magistral Small 2506 or Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct?
Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct has the clearer documented structured outputs signal in this comparison. If structured outputs is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.
Where can I run Magistral Small 2506 and Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct?
Magistral Small 2506 is available on NVIDIA NIM. Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct is available on AWS Bedrock, NVIDIA NIM, Mistral AI Studio, and Microsoft Foundry. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Magistral Small 2506 over Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct?
Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct is safer overall; choose Magistral Small 2506 when reasoning depth matters. If your workload also depends on reasoning depth, start with Magistral Small 2506; if it depends on provider fit, run the same evaluation with Mistral Large 3 675B Instruct.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-19. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.