TechCompare LogoTechCompare

DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Mistral Large 3: cost efficiency vs open weights sovereignty

DeepSeek V4 Pro remains cheaper for almost all volume profiles, particularly on outputs. Mistral Large 3 is excellent if you prefer a European-hosted model with robust multi-lingual capabilities.

Serverless pricing versus flagship open weights.

Mistral Large 3 represents Europe's flagship open weights champion. DeepSeek V4 Pro offers highly optimized serverless API pricing. Both target enterprise tasks but feature different pricing models.

By TechCompare · Updated

Cost Comparison

Based on 100,000 input tokens (50% cached), 5,000 output tokens, and 100 requests.Prices are fetched live from OpenRouter and may include temporary promotional discounts not accounted for in our article and comparison figures.

Same 100,000 in / 5,000 out (50% cached) scenario, pre-loaded. Adjust tokens, caching, or swap models.
Edit in the full tool
Option A
DeepSeek V4 Pro
Wins 1 of 4 compared specs
Option B
Mistral Large 3
Wins 2 of 4 compared specs

Side-by-side specs

SpecDeepSeek V4 ProMistral Large 3
Input Cost (per M)
$0.66-$1.32
$0.50 (better on this spec)
Output Cost (per M)
$1.98-$3.96
$2.00
Cached Input (per M)
$0.022-$0.044 (better on this spec)
$0.05
Batch Discount
0%
50% (better on this spec)

How they differ

DeepSeek V4 Pro's official API rates vary by UTC schedule: $0.66-$1.32 per million input tokens, $1.98-$3.96 per million output tokens, and $0.022-$0.044 per million cached input tokens. Mistral Large 3 runs at $0.50 per million input tokens and $2.00 per million output tokens. Mistral offers a 50% batch discount and 90% caching discount, while DeepSeek's cached-input discount is 96.67%.

Verdict

Mistral is cheaper on uncached input at $0.50/M versus DeepSeek's $0.66-$1.32/M. Output is nearly tied at DeepSeek's off-peak $1.98/M but Mistral is cheaper than the $3.96/M peak rate. DeepSeek cached input at $0.022-$0.044/M undercuts Mistral's $0.05/M, while Mistral's 50% batch discount makes its asynchronous rates lower on both input and output. The practical reason to pick Mistral also includes EU residency and language coverage.

Which should you pick?

Choose DeepSeek V4 Pro

Extremely cost-sensitive enterprise pipelines and high-volume outputs.

Choose Mistral Large 3

European residency requirements, sovereign cloud setups, and multi-lingual reasoning.

Related comparisons

MiMo-V2.6-Pro vs MiMo-V2.6-Flash
Compare Xiaomi's normal-speed real-time rates, cache savings, and the cost of successful tasks.
Read comparison ➜
GLM-5.3-Flash vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Cache hits can change the cheaper option off-peak. Compare Z.ai and DeepSeek's direct rates.
Read comparison ➜
MiMo-V2.6-Flash vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
Compare Xiaomi's flat real-time rates with DeepSeek's peak and off-peak token prices.
Read comparison ➜
GPT-6 Luna vs GPT-6.1 Sol
Luna's base input and output rates are 20 times lower. Compare the cost of a successful result.
Read comparison ➜
GPT-6 Luna vs Claude Haiku 4.5
Luna's base token rates are ten times lower. Task quality and integration decide whether switching pays off.
Read comparison ➜
GPT-6.1 Sol vs Claude Opus 5.5
Sol costs half as much at base rates, but its long-prompt surcharge narrows the gap.
Read comparison ➜

Frequently asked questions

Which model is better for a European data residency requirement?
Mistral Large 3 if residency is the deciding requirement. It runs on Mistral's sovereign European infrastructure with a 90% caching discount and a 50% batch discount. DeepSeek can be cheaper on cached input or off-peak output, but that does not replace a residency requirement.
How do the caching discounts compare between DeepSeek V4 Pro and Mistral Large 3?
DeepSeek's current cache-hit price is $0.022/M off-peak or $0.044/M at peak, versus Mistral's $0.05/M. That makes DeepSeek about 1.1x-2.3x cheaper on cached input. Mistral counters with a 50% batch discount for asynchronous bulk, which DeepSeek does not offer.
When is Mistral Large 3 cheaper than DeepSeek V4 Pro?
Mistral is cheaper on uncached input at $0.50/M versus DeepSeek's $0.66-$1.32/M, and its 50% batch rates are lower on both input and output. DeepSeek remains cheaper on cache hits, while output is close off-peak and favors Mistral at DeepSeek's peak rate.

Related tools

LLM API Pricing Calculator

Compare API costs across major models (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) with prompt caching.

Use tool ➜

LLM VRAM Calculator

Calculate the VRAM needed to run or fine-tune any LLM at any quantization.

Use tool ➜