Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 vs Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct
Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 (2024) and Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct (2024) are compact production models from MistralAI and Microsoft Research. Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 ships a 64k-token context window, while Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct ships a 128k-token context window. On pricing, Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct costs $0.50/1M input tokens versus $2/1M 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.
Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct is ~300% cheaper at $0.50/1M; pay for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 only for provider fit.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 | Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | tool-calling agents | general production evaluation |
| Decision fit | Agents and JSON / Tool use | Long context |
| Context window | 64k | 128k |
| Cheapest output | $2/1M tokens | $0.50/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 1 tracked | 1 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 uniquely exposes JSON / Tool use in local model data.
- Local decision data tags Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 for Agents and JSON / Tool use.
- Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.50/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct for Long context.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3
$2,100
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Replicate API
Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct
$525
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Fireworks AI
Estimated monthly gap: $1,575. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 and Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct is $1.50/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for JSON / Tool use before moving production traffic.
- No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
- Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 is $1.50/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 adds JSON / Tool use in local capability data.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2024-07-01 | 2024-08-20 |
| Context window | 64k | 128k |
| Parameters | 8x22B | 16x3.8B (42B, 6.6B active) |
| Architecture | Mixture of Experts | Decoder Only |
| License | Apache 2.0OSI-approved | MITOSI-approved |
| Openness | Open source | Open source |
| Weights | Unknown | Unknown |
| Code | Unknown | Unknown |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: permitted |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2024-01 | 2023-10 |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 | Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $2/1M tokens | $0.50/1M tokens |
| Output price | $2/1M tokens | $0.50/1M tokens |
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 | Phi 3.5 MoE Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | No |
| Multimodal | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | No |
| Structured outputs | No | No |
| Code execution | No | No |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-05-19. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.