Magistral Small 2506 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B
Magistral Small 2506 (2025) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B (2025) are frontier reasoning models from MistralAI and Alibaba. Magistral Small 2506 ships a 128k-token context window, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B ships a not-yet-sourced 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.
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B is safer overall; choose Magistral Small 2506 when reasoning depth matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Magistral Small 2506 | Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | Long context | Classification and JSON / Tool use |
| Context window | 128k | — |
| Cheapest output | - | $0.78/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 5 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Magistral Small 2506 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Magistral Small 2506 uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Magistral Small 2506 for Long context.
- Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
- Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B for 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.
Magistral Small 2506
Unavailable
No complete token price in local provider data
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B
$273
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.
- Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B and Magistral Small 2506; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- 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 | — |
| Parameters | 24B | 80B (3B active) |
| Architecture | decoder only | - |
| License | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-06 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Magistral Small 2506 | Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | - | $0.10/1M tokens |
| Output price | - | $0.78/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Magistral Small 2506 | Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 reasoning mode: Magistral Small 2506 and structured outputs: Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B. 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B has $0.10/1M input tokens. Provider availability is 1 tracked routes versus 5. 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B 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. For teams standardizing a stack, that distinction is often the difference between a benchmark win and a reliable deployment.
FAQ
Is Magistral Small 2506 or Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B open source?
Magistral Small 2506 is listed under Proprietary. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B 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 reasoning mode, Magistral Small 2506 or Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B?
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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B?
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B?
Magistral Small 2506 is available on NVIDIA NIM. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B is available on AWS Bedrock, OpenRouter, Venice AI, Novita AI, and Novita AI. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
When should I pick Magistral Small 2506 over Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B?
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-22. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.