Magistral Small 2506 vs Mistral Medium 3.5
Magistral Small 2506 (2025) and Mistral Medium 3.5 (2026) are frontier-tier reasoning models from MistralAI. Magistral Small 2506 ships a 128k-token context window, while Mistral Medium 3.5 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. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.
Mistral Medium 3.5 is safer overall; choose Magistral Small 2506 when provider fit matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Magistral Small 2506 | Mistral Medium 3.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Long context | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 128k | 256k |
| Cheapest output | - | $7.50/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 3 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Local decision data tags Magistral Small 2506 for Long context.
- Mistral Medium 3.5 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Mistral Medium 3.5 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Mistral Medium 3.5 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Mistral Medium 3.5 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Magistral Small 2506
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Mistral Medium 3.5
$3,075
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Mistral AI Studio
Cost delta unavailable until both models have sourced input and output token prices.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Magistral Small 2506 and Mistral Medium 3.5; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Mistral Medium 3.5 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mistral Medium 3.5 and Magistral Small 2506; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-06-10 | 2026-04-29 |
| Context window | 128k | 256k |
| Parameters | 24B | 128B |
| Architecture | decoder only | decoder only |
| License | Apache 2.0(OSI) | Proprietary |
| Openness | Open source | Proprietary |
| Commercial use | Commercial use allowed | Commercial use with conditions |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-06 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Magistral Small 2506 | Mistral Medium 3.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $1.50/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $7.50/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Magistral Small 2506 | Mistral Medium 3.5 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| 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 rows are currently sourced for this pair.
Deep dive
The capability footprint differs most on vision: Mistral Medium 3.5, multimodal input: Mistral Medium 3.5, function calling: Mistral Medium 3.5, tool use: Mistral Medium 3.5, and structured outputs: Mistral Medium 3.5. Both models share reasoning mode, 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 Medium 3.5 has $1.50/1M input tokens. Provider availability is 1 tracked routes versus 3. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.
Choose Magistral Small 2506 when provider fit are central to the workload. Choose Mistral Medium 3.5 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. 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 Medium 3.5?
Mistral Medium 3.5 supports 256k tokens, while Magistral Small 2506 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 Medium 3.5 open source?
Magistral Small 2506 is listed under Apache 2.0. Mistral Medium 3.5 is listed under Proprietary. 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, Magistral Small 2506 or Mistral Medium 3.5?
Mistral Medium 3.5 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, Magistral Small 2506 or Mistral Medium 3.5?
Mistral Medium 3.5 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 reasoning mode, Magistral Small 2506 or Mistral Medium 3.5?
Both Magistral Small 2506 and Mistral Medium 3.5 expose reasoning mode. The better choice depends on benchmark fit, context budget, pricing, and whether your provider route exposes the same capability surface.
Where can I run Magistral Small 2506 and Mistral Medium 3.5?
Magistral Small 2506 is available on NVIDIA NIM. Mistral Medium 3.5 is available on Mistral AI Studio, OpenRouter, and Vercel AI Gateway. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-22. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.