Mistral Small 4 vs Nemotron 4 340B
Mistral Small 4 (2026) and Nemotron 4 340B (2025) are compact production models from MistralAI and NVIDIA AI. Mistral Small 4 ships a 256k-token context window, while Nemotron 4 340B ships a 4k-token context window. On pricing, Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15/1M input tokens versus $4.20/1M 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.
Mistral Small 4 is ~2700% cheaper at $0.15/1M; pay for Nemotron 4 340B only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Mistral Small 4 | Nemotron 4 340B |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | multimodal apps, tool-calling agents, and provider-routed production | provider-routed production |
| Decision fit | RAG, Agents, and Long context | Classification and JSON / Tool use |
| Context window | 256k | 4k |
| Cheapest output | $0.60/1M tokens | $4.20/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 3 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 rows | 0 rows |
Decision tradeoffs
- Mistral Small 4 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Mistral Small 4 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.60/1M tokens.
- 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.
- Nemotron 4 340B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Nemotron 4 340B 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.
Mistral Small 4
$270
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
Nemotron 4 340B
$4,410
Cheapest tracked route/tier: DeepInfra
Estimated monthly gap: $4,140. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Nemotron 4 340B is $3.60/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling before moving production traffic.
- Nemotron 4 340B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on NVIDIA NIM; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Mistral Small 4 is $3.60/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
- Mistral Small 4 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Function calling in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-03-16 | 2025-02-27 |
| Context window | 256k | 4k |
| Parameters | 119B (6.5B active) | 340B |
| Architecture | moe | decoder only |
| License | Apache 2.0(OSI) | NVIDIA Open Model |
| Openness | Open source | Open weights |
| Commercial use | Commercial use allowed | Commercial use allowed |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-06 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Mistral Small 4 | Nemotron 4 340B |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.15/1M tokens | $4.20/1M tokens |
| Output price | $0.60/1M tokens | $4.20/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Mistral Small 4 | Nemotron 4 340B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | No |
| Multimodal | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Function calling | Yes | No |
| Tool use | Yes | 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 vision: Mistral Small 4, multimodal input: Mistral Small 4, function calling: Mistral Small 4, tool use: Mistral Small 4, and structured outputs: Nemotron 4 340B. 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 Small 4 lists $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider, while Nemotron 4 340B lists $4.20/1M input and $4.20/1M output tokens on the cheapest tracked provider. A 70/30 input-output blend puts Mistral Small 4 lower by about $3.92 per million blended tokens. Availability is 3 providers versus 2, so concentration risk also matters.
Choose Mistral Small 4 when long-context analysis, larger context windows, and lower input-token cost are central to the workload. Choose Nemotron 4 340B when provider fit 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, Mistral Small 4 or Nemotron 4 340B?
Mistral Small 4 supports 256k tokens, while Nemotron 4 340B supports 4k 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 Small 4 or Nemotron 4 340B?
Mistral Small 4 is cheaper on tracked token pricing. Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15/1M input and $0.60/1M output tokens. Nemotron 4 340B costs $4.20/1M input and $4.20/1M output tokens. Provider discounts or batch pricing can still change the final bill.
Is Mistral Small 4 or Nemotron 4 340B open source?
Mistral Small 4 is listed under Apache 2.0. Nemotron 4 340B is listed under NVIDIA Open Model. 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 Small 4 or Nemotron 4 340B?
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, Mistral Small 4 or Nemotron 4 340B?
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 Mistral Small 4 and Nemotron 4 340B?
Mistral Small 4 is available on OpenRouter, NVIDIA NIM, and Mistral AI Studio. Nemotron 4 340B is available on NVIDIA NIM and DeepInfra. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.
Continue comparing
Last reviewed: 2026-05-19. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.