o4-mini vs Ministral 3 8B
Detailed pricing comparison and cost analysis.
Updated September 2026
Cost Simulator
| Feature | o4-mini | Ministral 3 8B |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | OpenAI | Mistral |
| Input Price (1M) | $1.10 | $0.15 |
| Output Price (1M) | $4.40 | $0.15 |
| Context Window | 200,000 | 262,000 |
Verdict
o4-mini costs $1.10 per 1M input tokens and $4.40 per 1M output tokens. Ministral 3 8B costs $0.15 per 1M input tokens and $0.15 per 1M output tokens. Ministral 3 8B is 86% cheaper on input tokens than o4-mini. For output tokens, Ministral 3 8B is the more affordable option at $0.15/1M vs $4.40.
On context window, Ministral 3 8B supports 262,000 tokens — meaning it can fit more conversation history, documents, or code in a single request. This matters for RAG pipelines, long document analysis, and agentic workflows where context builds up over many turns.
When to choose o4-mini
- ✓ You are already integrated with OpenAI
When to choose Ministral 3 8B
- ✓ You need the lowest input token cost ($ 0.15/1M)
- ✓ Your workload is output-heavy — Ministral 3 8B generates text cheaper
- ✓ You need a larger context window (262,000 tokens)
- ✓ You are already integrated with Mistral
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 o4-mini cheaper than Ministral 3 8B? ▼
Ministral 3 8B is cheaper on input tokens at $0.15/1M vs $1.10/1M for o4-mini — a 86% saving.
What is the context window of o4-mini vs Ministral 3 8B? ▼
o4-mini has a 200,000-token context window. Ministral 3 8B has a 262,000-token context window. Ministral 3 8B supports the larger context, suitable for longer documents and agentic workflows.
Which model is better: o4-mini or Ministral 3 8B? ▼
The best choice depends on your use case. For cost efficiency on input tokens, Ministral 3 8B is the cheaper option. For maximum context length, Ministral 3 8B supports 262,000 tokens. Use the comparison table above to find the right fit for your workload.