Mistral Small 3 vs Deepgram Nova 3

Compare Mistral Small 3 and Deepgram Nova 3: 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 Deepgram Nova 3
CategoryCompactSpeech
Parameters24B~1B
Context Window32KStreaming
Input Price$0.02/1M tokens$0.004/min/1M tokens
Output Price$0.04/1M tokensN/A/1M tokens
Latency~150ms~100ms

Choose Mistral Small 3 when:

  • ✓ Content classification
  • ✓ Intent detection
  • ✓ Preprocessing
Key Strengths:

Very fast, Low cost, Good classification

Choose Deepgram Nova 3 when:

  • ✓ Real-time transcription
  • ✓ Call centers
  • ✓ Meeting notes
Key Strengths:

Ultra-low latency, Streaming native, Very cheap

Verdict: Mistral Small 3 vs Deepgram Nova 3

For cost efficiency, Deepgram Nova 3 wins at $0.004/min/1M input tokens. For speed, Deepgram Nova 3 is faster at ~100ms. Mistral Small 3 excels at Content classification while Deepgram Nova 3 is better for Real-time transcription. 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 costs $0.02/1M input tokens and $0.04/1M output tokens. Deepgram Nova 3 costs $0.004/min input and N/A output. Deepgram Nova 3 is 5.0x cheaper on input tokens. XALEN offers batch processing at 50% discount on both models.

Performance & Context

Mistral Small 3 has a 32K context window with ~150ms latency. Deepgram Nova 3 offers Streaming context at ~100ms. Both have identical context windows.

Best For

Mistral Small 3 (Compact) is optimized for: Content classification, Intent detection, Preprocessing. Deepgram Nova 3 (Speech) works best for: Real-time transcription, Call centers, Meeting notes.

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

# Use Deepgram Nova 3
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepgram-nova-3",
    messages=[{"role": "user", "content": "Your question here"}]
)

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Get API Key Try in Playground

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better, Mistral Small 3 or Deepgram Nova 3?

Mistral Small 3 (Compact, 24B) offers Very fast. Deepgram Nova 3 (Speech, ~1B) offers Ultra-low latency. Choose Mistral Small 3 for Content classification or Deepgram Nova 3 for Real-time transcription.

How much does Mistral Small 3 cost vs Deepgram Nova 3?

Mistral Small 3: $0.02/1M input, $0.04/1M output. Deepgram Nova 3: $0.004/min/1M input, N/A/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 and Deepgram Nova 3 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.