LLM Reference

Mistral Large 2 vs Mixtral 8x7B

Mistral Large 2 (2025) and Mixtral 8x7B (2023) are compact production models from MistralAI. Mistral Large 2 ships a 128k-token context window, while Mixtral 8x7B ships a 32k-token context window. On HumanEval, Mistral Large 2 leads by 4.3 pts. On pricing, Mixtral 8x7B costs $0.15/1M input tokens versus $0.48/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.

Mixtral 8x7B is ~220% cheaper at $0.15/1M; pay for Mistral Large 2 only for long-context analysis.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalMistral Large 2Mixtral 8x7B
Best formultimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed productionprovider-routed production
Decision fitCoding, RAG, and AgentsCoding and Classification
Context window128k32k
Cheapest output$2.40/1M tokens$0.45/1M tokens
Provider routes4 tracked18 tracked
Shared benchmarksHumanEval leader3 rows

Decision tradeoffs

Choose Mistral Large 2 when...
  • Mistral Large 2 holds a shared-benchmark lead on HumanEval, ahead by 4.3 points.
  • Mistral Large 2 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
  • Mistral Large 2 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags Mistral Large 2 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Choose Mixtral 8x7B when...
  • Mixtral 8x7B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.45/1M tokens.
  • Mixtral 8x7B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and procurement flexibility.
  • Local decision data tags Mixtral 8x7B for Coding and Classification.

Monthly cost at traffic

Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.

Lower estimate Mixtral 8x7B

Mistral Large 2

$984

Cheapest tracked route/tier: AWS Bedrock

Mixtral 8x7B

$233

Cheapest tracked route/tier: Mistral AI Studio

Estimated monthly gap: $752. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

Mistral Large 2 -> Mixtral 8x7B
  • Provider overlap exists on AWS Bedrock, Mistral AI Studio, and IBM watsonx; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Mixtral 8x7B is $1.95/1M 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.
Mixtral 8x7B -> Mistral Large 2
  • Provider overlap exists on IBM watsonx, AWS Bedrock, and Mistral AI Studio; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Mistral Large 2 is $1.95/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
  • Mistral Large 2 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling in local capability data.

Specs

Specification
Released2025-11-252023-12-11
Context window128k32k
Parameters123B8x7B
Architecturedecoder onlymixture of experts
LicenseMistral LicenseApache 2.0(OSI)
OpennessOpen weightsOpen source
Commercial useNon-commercial onlyCommercial use allowed
Knowledge cutoff2025-072023-12

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeMistral Large 2Mixtral 8x7B
Input price$0.48/1M tokens$0.15/1M tokens
Output price$2.40/1M tokens$0.45/1M tokens
Providers

Capabilities

CapabilityMistral Large 2Mixtral 8x7B
VisionYesNo
MultimodalYesNo
ReasoningNoNo
Function callingYesNo
Tool useYesNo
Structured outputsYesNo
Code executionNoNo
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

BenchmarkMistral Large 2Mixtral 8x7B
HumanEval84.880.5
Massive Multitask Language Understanding84.080.2
HellaSwag93.890.9

Deep dive

On shared benchmark coverage, HumanEval has Mistral Large 2 at 84.8 and Mixtral 8x7B at 80.5, with Mistral Large 2 ahead by 4.3 points; Massive Multitask Language Understanding has Mistral Large 2 at 84 and Mixtral 8x7B at 80.2, with Mistral Large 2 ahead by 3.8 points; HellaSwag has Mistral Large 2 at 93.8 and Mixtral 8x7B at 90.9, with Mistral Large 2 ahead by 2.9 points. The largest visible gap is 4.3 points on HumanEval, 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 vision: Mistral Large 2, multimodal input: Mistral Large 2, function calling: Mistral Large 2, tool use: Mistral Large 2, and structured outputs: Mistral Large 2. 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, Mistral Large 2 lists $0.48/1M input and $2.40/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Mixtral 8x7B lists $0.15/1M input and $0.45/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Mixtral 8x7B lower by about $0.82 per million blended tokens. Availability is 4 providers versus 18, so concentration risk also matters.

Choose Mistral Large 2 when long-context analysis and larger context windows are central to the workload. Choose Mixtral 8x7B when provider fit, lower input-token cost, 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.

FAQ

Which has a larger context window, Mistral Large 2 or Mixtral 8x7B?

Mistral Large 2 supports 128k tokens, while Mixtral 8x7B supports 32k tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.

Which is cheaper, Mistral Large 2 or Mixtral 8x7B?

Mixtral 8x7B is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Mistral Large 2 costs $0.48/1M input and $2.40/1M output tokens. Mixtral 8x7B costs $0.15/1M input and $0.45/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.

Is Mistral Large 2 or Mixtral 8x7B open source?

Mistral Large 2 is listed under Mistral License. Mixtral 8x7B 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, Mistral Large 2 or Mixtral 8x7B?

Mistral Large 2 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, Mistral Large 2 or Mixtral 8x7B?

Mistral Large 2 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 Mistral Large 2 and Mixtral 8x7B?

Mistral Large 2 is available on OpenRouter, IBM watsonx, AWS Bedrock, and Mistral AI Studio. Mixtral 8x7B is available on Databricks Foundation Model Serving, NVIDIA NIM, GCP Vertex AI, AWS Bedrock, and OctoAI API (Deprecated). Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.

Continue comparing

Last reviewed: 2026-05-16. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.