Mistral Small 4 vs Claude Opus 4.8
Detailed pricing comparison and cost analysis.
Updated September 2026
Cost Simulator
| Feature | Mistral Small 4 | Claude Opus 4.8 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Mistral | Anthropic |
| Input Price (1M) | $0.15 | $5.00 |
| Output Price (1M) | $0.60 | $25.00 |
| Context Window | 131,000 | 1,000,000 |
Verdict
Mistral Small 4 costs $0.15 per 1M input tokens and $0.60 per 1M output tokens. Claude Opus 4.8 costs $5.00 per 1M input tokens and $25.00 per 1M output tokens. Mistral Small 4 is 97% cheaper on input tokens than Claude Opus 4.8. For output tokens, Mistral Small 4 is the more affordable option at $0.60/1M vs $25.00.
On context window, Claude Opus 4.8 supports 1,000,000 tokens — meaning it can fit more conversation history, documents, or code in a single request. This matters for RAG pipelines, long document analysis, and agentic workflows where context builds up over many turns.
When to choose Mistral Small 4
- ✓ You need the lowest input token cost ($ 0.15/1M)
- ✓ Your workload is output-heavy — Mistral Small 4 generates text cheaper
- ✓ You are already integrated with Mistral
When to choose Claude Opus 4.8
- ✓ You need a larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
- ✓ You are already integrated with Anthropic
Use the calculator above to simulate your specific workload and find the exact break-even point. For most applications, the cheapest model is the one that minimises your total monthly bill given your input-to-output token ratio.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Mistral Small 4 cheaper than Claude Opus 4.8? ▼
Mistral Small 4 is cheaper on input tokens at $0.15/1M vs $5.00/1M for Claude Opus 4.8 — a 97% saving.
What is the context window of Mistral Small 4 vs Claude Opus 4.8? ▼
Mistral Small 4 has a 131,000-token context window. Claude Opus 4.8 has a 1,000,000-token context window. Claude Opus 4.8 supports the larger context, suitable for longer documents and agentic workflows.
Which model is better: Mistral Small 4 or Claude Opus 4.8? ▼
The best choice depends on your use case. For cost efficiency on input tokens, Mistral Small 4 is the cheaper option. For maximum context length, Claude Opus 4.8 supports 1,000,000 tokens. Use the comparison table above to find the right fit for your workload.