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xAI vs Mistral AI
Grok brings live X data and up to 1M context on closed weights. Mistral brings open weights, cheaper budget tiers and EU hosting, but stops at 256K.
By The Subconscious Team · Updated
xAI vs Mistral AI: key differences
xAI's Grok 4.6 is its flagship for everything outside media, with a 500K context at $2 in and $6 out under 200K prompt tokens. Past that line, the whole request bills at double. Grok 4.20 and 4.3 keep a 1M window at $1.25 in and $2.50 out. Mistral's Medium 3.5 costs $1.50 in and $7.50 out, so its output runs pricier than Grok 4.6, while Large 3 at $0.50 in and $1.50 out and Small 4 at $0.15 in and $0.60 out undercut every Grok tier. Mistral caps context at 256K across the board, which rules it out for prompts Grok 4.20 can take whole. Grok 4.6 runs around 54 tokens per second.
Grok's unique feature is native live data. Server-side Web Search and X Search tools pull current posts straight from X, which suits news, market and sentiment agents. xAI also ships a multi-agent Grok 4.20 variant, the grok-build coding model and separate image, video and audio APIs. It has a smaller enterprise footprint and fewer cloud-marketplace options, which is where Mistral is strong. Its models run on Azure, Bedrock, Vertex AI, Snowflake Cortex and watsonx, self-host from open weights, and process in EU or US regions. Mistral's Agents API has built-in tools, and Codestral, OCR and Voxtral round out the lineup, though its models retire quickly.
What xAI and Mistral AI do
xAI
xAI sells the Grok models through its own API. Grok 4.6 is the current flagship and xAI tells developers to use it for everything outside audio, image and video, code included. It has a 500K context window and costs $2 in and $6 out per million tokens under 200K prompt tokens. Older Grok 4.20 and 4.3 models keep a 1M window at $1.25 in and $2.50 out, which is aggressive for that capability class.
Example models: Grok 4.6, Grok 4.20
Full xAI profileMistral AI
Mistral AI is a Paris lab that sells its models through La Plateforme, its own API, and releases most of them as open weights. It consolidated the lineup in 2026. Mistral Medium 3.5, released April 28, is a dense 128B model that merges instruction following, reasoning and coding into one set of weights, and it replaced both Devstral 2 and the Magistral reasoning models. It costs $1.50 in and $7.50 out per million tokens and scores 77.6% on SWE-Bench Verified by Mistral's count. Mistral Small 4, a 119B mixture-of-experts model with 6.5B active, costs $0.15 in and $0.60 out. Mistral Large 3, a 675B MoE under Apache 2.0, runs $0.50 in and $1.50 out. All three carry a 256K context window.
Example models: Mistral Medium 3.5, Mistral Small 4
Full Mistral AI profileShould you choose xAI or Mistral AI?
xAI
Choose xAI for
- Social listening with native X Search
- 1M context at $1.25 in on Grok 4.20
- Real-time news and market agents
Mistral AI
Choose Mistral AI for
- Open weights for self-hosting or sovereign clouds
- Budget steps on Small 4 at $0.15 in
- Buying through Azure, Bedrock or Vertex
xAI vs Mistral AI at a glance
| Attribute | xAI | Mistral AI |
|---|---|---|
| Model access | Closed | Open weights, plus closed Codestral |
| Flagship models | Grok 4.6, Grok 4.20, grok-build | Mistral Medium 3.5, Small 4, Large 3 |
| Speed | ~54 tok/s on Grok 4.6 | Unknown |
| Price | $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.6); 2x past 200K | $0.15–$1.50 in, $0.60–$7.50 out per 1M |
| Customization | Unknown | Forge (enterprise); fine-tuning API deprecated |
| Deployment | First-party API | API, Azure, Bedrock, Vertex, self-host |
| Long context | 500K (4.6), 1M (4.20, 4.3) | 256K |
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between xAI and Mistral AI?
Grok brings live X data and up to 1M context on closed weights. Mistral brings open weights, cheaper budget tiers and EU hosting, but stops at 256K.
When should I choose xAI over Mistral AI?
Social listening with native X Search; 1M context at $1.25 in on Grok 4.20; Real-time news and market agents.
When should I choose Mistral AI over xAI?
Open weights for self-hosting or sovereign clouds; Budget steps on Small 4 at $0.15 in; Buying through Azure, Bedrock or Vertex.
Is xAI or Mistral AI cheaper?
xAI: $2 in, $6 out (Grok 4.6); 2x past 200K. Mistral AI: $0.15–$1.50 in, $0.60–$7.50 out per 1M. The cheaper choice depends on the model and workload.
Which has more context, xAI or Mistral AI?
xAI: 500K (4.6), 1M (4.20, 4.3). Mistral AI: 256K.
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