LLM APIs · Comparison
Mistral AI API vs OpenAI API
2 products compared side by side: what you pay for with each one first, then the five access facts, entry prices, recorded plan limits and the bottom line of each review. The evidence note under the table says how each product was checked.
Side by side
| Metric | Mistral AI API | OpenAI API |
|---|---|---|
| What you're paying for | Worth the priceLow per-token prices on small open-weight models, with EU or US processing you can choose yourself and spending caps per workspace. | Saves engineering timeOne API key for OpenAI's GPT-6 models and hosted tools, priced per token with published batch, flex and caching discounts. |
| Overall score | 7.4Best | 7.1 |
| Free option | Free plan | –Not measured |
| Card to start | No card needed | –Not measured |
| Getting access | Self-serve | Self-serve |
| Starter priceCheapest paid plan | $0.10/1M input tokens | $0.10/1M input tokens |
| Pricing model | Usage-based | Usage-based |
| Pricing page | Public prices | Public prices |
| How you pay | Prepaid pay-as-you-go credits, optional auto recharge | Prepaid credits ($5 minimum), expire after 1 year |
| Free option | Free mode, no card; allowance not stated publicly | No free allowance stated |
| Reference scenario (100M in + 20M out tokens/mo) | $12 on ministral-3b-2512, computed | $20 on gpt-6-luna, computed |
| Batch, cache and other discounts | Batch 50% off; cached input 90% off | Batch and Flex 50% off; cached input 90% off |
| Trained on API data | Unless you opt out (Free mode and paid) | No, unless you opt in |
| Default retention | 30 rolling days for abuse monitoring | Abuse logs up to 30 days |
| Zero data retention | By approval, pay-as-you-go, stateless endpoints only | By approval, through sales |
| SOC 2 / ISO 27001 | Both, stated in the help center | Both, covering the API |
| HIPAA BAA | Not stated | Standard BAA accepted in the API Platform, if eligible |
| Data regions | EU and US endpoints at +10% | 10 storage regions by approval; processing in US, EU, UAE |
| Official SDKs | Python, TypeScript | Python, TypeScript/JavaScript, Java (beta), Go (beta), C#, Ruby |
| Console SSO | SAML on the Enterprise plan | Custom/Enterprise billing plan |
| Bottom line | From its public pages, the Mistral AI API has the lowest reference price in this comparison, EU or US endpoints you can pick yourself and spending caps. Training use is an opt-out, rate limits sit behind sign-in, and ZDR and SSO need approval or the Enterprise plan. | From its public pages, the OpenAI API has a complete per-token price list, published batch, flex and caching discounts, and audit reports that cover the API. Stricter data controls, residency and SSO go through sales, and a few docs pages lag behind the price list. |
Evidence: Mistral AI API: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run; OpenAI API: facts checked 2026-10-15 from its public sign-up and pricing pages, no completed hands-on run. Prices in USD as listed, excluding tax. "–" means not recorded.
When to pick each
In the words of each review, with the date its facts were checked.
From our Mistral AI API review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick Mistral AI API when
- You want a lower scenario price ($12 on Ministral 3 3B against $20 on GPT-6 Luna), a free mode with no card, and EU or US endpoints without a sales call.
- Pick OpenAI API when
- You want API data kept out of training by default, published rate limits, official SDKs in six languages and a HIPAA BAA path.
From our OpenAI API review
Checked Oct 15, 2026- Pick OpenAI API when
- You want API data kept out of training by default, published rate limits and a HIPAA BAA path.
- Pick Mistral AI API when
- You want a lower scenario price ($12 on Ministral 3 3B), a free mode with no card, and EU or US regional endpoints at +10%.
Entry price
Baseline: each product's cheapest paid plan, per month. Included usage differs, so read the line under each price.
- Mistral AI APIPro$14.99/moExcluding taxes; one plan across Vibe, Studio and API usage
- $25.5 /mo in API credits
- Chat and email support
- Usage beyond the plan at API rates
- OpenAI APIGPT-6 Luna$0.10/1M input tokens$0.50 per 1M output tokens; cached input $0.01, cache writes $0.125; prompts over 272K input tokens cost 2x input and 1.5x output
- 1,050,000-token context window
- Batch and Flex at 50% of standard rates
- Fast mode at 2x
- EU data residency at +10%
Prices as listed on each pricing page, in USD per month, excluding tax. Observed: Mistral AI API 2026-10-15, OpenAI API 2026-10-15.
Which one fits
- If you need to start today without a sales call
- Mistral AI APISelf-serve sign-up, no card needed; the highest score of the 2 self-serve products here (7.4/10).
- If you want to try it without entering a card
- Mistral AI APIFree plan, no card needed; scored 7.4/10.
- Lowest starter price
- Mistral AI API$0.10/1M input tokens for the Ministral 3 3B plan. OpenAI API lists no comparable paid price.
- Highest overall score
- Mistral AI API7.4/10 (Good). The review shows the score breakdown and the run behind it.
Picked by fixed rules from the table above, not by hand. How we score
Full reviews
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