Mistral Small 3 vs Hermes 3 70B

Compare Mistral Small 3 and Hermes 3 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

All Mistral models All NousResearch models What is an LLM API? Python Quickstart What is inference?
Feature Mistral Small 3 Hermes 3 70B
CategoryCompactOpen Source
Parameters24B70B
Context Window32K128K
Input Price$0.02/1M tokens$0.04/1M tokens
Output Price$0.04/1M tokens$0.06/1M tokens
Latency~150ms~300ms

Choose Mistral Small 3 when:

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

Very fast, Low cost, Good classification

Choose Hermes 3 70B when:

  • ✓ Agent frameworks
  • ✓ Tool use
  • ✓ Structured output
Key Strengths:

Strong function calling, Community-tuned, Good reasoning

Verdict: Mistral Small 3 vs Hermes 3 70B

For cost efficiency, Mistral Small 3 wins at $0.02/1M input tokens. For speed, Mistral Small 3 is faster at ~150ms. Mistral Small 3 excels at Content classification while Hermes 3 70B is better for Agent frameworks. 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. Hermes 3 70B costs $0.04 input and $0.06 output. Mistral Small 3 is 2.0x 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. Hermes 3 70B offers 128K context at ~300ms. Hermes 3 70B has the larger context window.

Best For

Mistral Small 3 (Compact) is optimized for: Content classification, Intent detection, Preprocessing. Hermes 3 70B (Open Source) works best for: Agent frameworks, Tool use, Structured output.

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 Hermes 3 70B
response_b = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="hermes-3-70b",
    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 or Hermes 3 70B?

Mistral Small 3 (Compact, 24B) offers Very fast. Hermes 3 70B (Open Source, 70B) offers Strong function calling. Choose Mistral Small 3 for Content classification or Hermes 3 70B for Agent frameworks.

How much does Mistral Small 3 cost vs Hermes 3 70B?

Mistral Small 3: $0.02/1M input, $0.04/1M output. Hermes 3 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 and Hermes 3 70B by changing the model parameter. No code changes needed.

Related Comparisons

Mistral Small 3 vs GPT-4.1 Nano Mistral Small 3 vs GPT-4o Mini Mistral Small 3 vs Claude Haiku 3.5 Mistral Small 3 vs Gemma 3 27B Mistral Small 3 vs Gemma 3 12B Mistral Small 3 vs Gemma 3 4B

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