Mistral Small 3.1 vs Code Llama 70B

Compare Mistral Small 3.1 and Code Llama 70B: pricing, performance, context window, latency, and best use cases. Side-by-side comparison on XALEN.

Updated 2026-05-21 · By Abhishek Raj · Our methodology

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Feature Mistral Small 3.1 Code Llama 70B
CategoryCompactCode
Parameters24B70B
Context Window128K100K
Input Price$0.02/1M tokens$0.04/1M tokens
Output Price$0.04/1M tokens$0.06/1M tokens
Latency~120ms~300ms

Choose Mistral Small 3.1 when:

  • ✓ Lightweight tasks
  • ✓ Classification
  • ✓ Simple generation
Key Strengths:

128K context, Low cost, Fast

Choose Code Llama 70B when:

  • ✓ Large codebases
  • ✓ Code review
  • ✓ Refactoring
Key Strengths:

100K context, Strong coding, Fill-in-middle

Verdict: Mistral Small 3.1 vs Code Llama 70B

For cost efficiency, Mistral Small 3.1 wins at $0.02/1M input tokens. For speed, Mistral Small 3.1 is faster at ~120ms. Mistral Small 3.1 excels at Lightweight tasks while Code Llama 70B is better for Large codebases. Both are available on XALEN through a single API — try them in the Playground to see which fits your workload.

Detailed Analysis

Pricing Comparison

Mistral Small 3.1 costs $0.02/1M input tokens and $0.04/1M output tokens. Code Llama 70B costs $0.04 input and $0.06 output. Mistral Small 3.1 is 2.0x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

Mistral Small 3.1 has a 128K context window with ~120ms latency. Code Llama 70B offers 100K context at ~300ms. Mistral Small 3.1 has the larger context window.

Best For

Mistral Small 3.1 (Compact) is optimized for: Lightweight tasks, Classification, Simple generation. Code Llama 70B (Code) works best for: Large codebases, Code review, Refactoring.

Try Both on XALEN

Both models are available through XALEN's OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between them by changing the model parameter:

from xalen import XALEN

client = XALEN(api_key="xln_test_YOUR_KEY")

# Use Mistral Small 3.1
response_a = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="mistral-small-3-1",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

# Use Code Llama 70B
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="codellama-70b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

Start Building with XALEN

200+ AI models. One API. Pay-as-you-go.

Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Mistral Small 3.1 or Code Llama 70B?

Mistral Small 3.1 (Compact, 24B) offers 128K context. Code Llama 70B (Code, 70B) offers 100K context. Choose Mistral Small 3.1 for Lightweight tasks or Code Llama 70B for Large codebases.

How much does Mistral Small 3.1 cost vs Code Llama 70B?

Mistral Small 3.1: $0.02/1M input, $0.04/1M output. Code Llama 70B: $0.04/1M input, $0.06/1M output. Both available on XALEN with batch processing at 50% discount.

Can I use both models on XALEN?

Yes. XALEN provides 200+ models through a single OpenAI-compatible API. Switch between Mistral Small 3.1 and Code Llama 70B by changing the model parameter. No code changes needed.

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Last updated: 2026-05-21. Pricing and specifications may change. Check pricing page for latest rates.