Mistral Small 3.1 vs Molmo 72B

Compare Mistral Small 3.1 and Molmo 72B: 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 Molmo 72B
CategoryCompactVision
Parameters24B72B
Context Window128K128K
Input Price$0.02/1M tokens$0.04/1M tokens
Output Price$0.04/1M tokens$0.08/1M tokens
Latency~120ms~350ms

Choose Mistral Small 3.1 when:

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

128K context, Low cost, Fast

Choose Molmo 72B when:

  • ✓ Visual grounding
  • ✓ Object detection
  • ✓ Research
Key Strengths:

Fully open, Good pointing/grounding, Transparent

Verdict: Mistral Small 3.1 vs Molmo 72B

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 Molmo 72B is better for Visual grounding. 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. Molmo 72B costs $0.04 input and $0.08 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. Molmo 72B offers 128K context at ~350ms. Both have identical context windows.

Best For

Mistral Small 3.1 (Compact) is optimized for: Lightweight tasks, Classification, Simple generation. Molmo 72B (Vision) works best for: Visual grounding, Object detection, Research.

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 Molmo 72B
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="molmo-72b",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Mistral Small 3.1 or Molmo 72B?

Mistral Small 3.1 (Compact, 24B) offers 128K context. Molmo 72B (Vision, 72B) offers Fully open. Choose Mistral Small 3.1 for Lightweight tasks or Molmo 72B for Visual grounding.

How much does Mistral Small 3.1 cost vs Molmo 72B?

Mistral Small 3.1: $0.02/1M input, $0.04/1M output. Molmo 72B: $0.04/1M input, $0.08/1M 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 Molmo 72B 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.