Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 vs Qwen3-235B-A22B

Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 (2024) and Qwen3-235B-A22B (2025) are compact production models from MistralAI and Alibaba. Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 ships a 64k-token context window, while Qwen3-235B-A22B ships a 128k-token context window. On pricing, Qwen3-235B-A22B costs $0.09/1M 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.

Qwen3-235B-A22B is ~2122% cheaper at $0.09/1M; pay for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 only for provider fit.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalMixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3Qwen3-235B-A22B
Best fortool-calling agentsprovider-routed production
Decision fitAgents and JSON / Tool useCoding, RAG, and Long context
Context window64k128k
Cheapest output$2/1M tokens$0.58/1M tokens
Provider routes1 tracked5 tracked
Shared benchmarks0 shared0 shared

Decision tradeoffs

Choose Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 when...
  • 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.
Choose Qwen3-235B-A22B when...
  • Qwen3-235B-A22B has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
  • Qwen3-235B-A22B has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $0.58/1M tokens.
  • Qwen3-235B-A22B has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
  • Qwen3-235B-A22B uniquely exposes Structured outputs in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags Qwen3-235B-A22B for Coding, RAG, and Long context.

Monthly cost at traffic

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

Lower estimate Qwen3-235B-A22B

Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3

$2,100

Cheapest tracked route/tier: Replicate API

Qwen3-235B-A22B

$217

Cheapest tracked route/tier: Novita AI

Estimated monthly gap: $1,883. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 -> Qwen3-235B-A22B
  • No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 and Qwen3-235B-A22B; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
  • Qwen3-235B-A22B is $1.42/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
  • Check replacement coverage for JSON / Tool use before moving production traffic.
  • Qwen3-235B-A22B adds Structured outputs in local capability data.
Qwen3-235B-A22B -> Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3
  • No overlapping tracked provider route is sourced for Qwen3-235B-A22B and Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3; plan for SDK, billing, or endpoint changes.
  • Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 is $1.42/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
  • Check replacement coverage for Structured outputs before moving production traffic.
  • Mixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3 adds JSON / Tool use in local capability data.

Specs

Specification
Released2024-07-012025-04-29
Context window64k128k
Parameters8x22B235B
ArchitectureMixture of ExpertsDecoder Only
LicenseApache 2.0OSI-approvedApache 2.0OSI-approved
OpennessOpen sourceOpen source
WeightsUnknownUnknown
CodeUnknownUnknown
Commercial useCommercial use: permittedCommercial use: permitted
Knowledge cutoff2024-01-

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeMixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3Qwen3-235B-A22B
Input price$2/1M tokens$0.09/1M tokens
Output price$2/1M tokens$0.58/1M tokens
Providers

Capabilities

CapabilityMixtral 8x22B Instruct v0.3Qwen3-235B-A22B
VisionNoNo
MultimodalNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
JSON / Tool useYesNo
Structured outputsNoYes
Code executionNoNo
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.

Continue comparing

Last reviewed: 2026-09-22. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.