Very long inputs
Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro
Gemini 3.1 Pro reads up to 1.05M tokens per request, against 256k for Ministral 3 8B.
Gemini 3.1 Pro vs Ministral 3 8B: price, context and capabilities
Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro for very long inputs, the hardest reasoning tasks, agentic coding, tool use and support agents, reasoning over long documents and the latest release. Choose Ministral 3 8B for self-hosting and data control.
In short
- A price comparison is not possible: one of them has no comparable published price.
- Gemini 3.1 Pro reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 256k.
- Gemini 3.1 Pro is the newer model (February 2026, against December 2025).
- Only Gemini 3.1 Pro offers reasoning, structured output, prompt caching, batch api.
- Only Ministral 3 8B offers self-hostable.
Which should you choose?
Each answer below comes straight from the published prices, specifications and independent benchmark results.
Hardest reasoning tasks
Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro
Gemini 3.1 Pro scores 29.7 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, against 5.5 for Ministral 3 8B.
Agentic coding
Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro
Gemini 3.1 Pro scores 53.8% on Terminal-Bench Hard, against 4.5% for Ministral 3 8B.
Tool use and support agents
Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro
Gemini 3.1 Pro scores 95.6% on τ²-Bench (agentic tool use), against 26.6% for Ministral 3 8B.
Reasoning over long documents
Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro
Gemini 3.1 Pro scores 82% on Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR), against 25.7% for Ministral 3 8B.
Self-hosting and data control
Choose Ministral 3 8B
Ministral 3 8B has open weights, so you can run it on your own servers; Gemini 3.1 Pro is only available through its provider.
Latest release
Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro
Gemini 3.1 Pro is the newer release (February 2026, against December 2025 for Ministral 3 8B).
Specifications side by side
| Gemini 3.1 Pro | Ministral 3 8B | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Mistral AI | |
| Category | Language models | Language models |
| Status | Preview | Generally available |
| Headline price | $4.50 / 1M tokens | No data |
| Input | $2.00 / 1M tokens | No data |
| Output | $12.00 / 1M tokens | No data |
| Cached input | $0.20 / 1M tokens | No data |
| Context window | 1.05M | 256k |
| Max output | 66k | No data |
| Released | February 2026 | December 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | No data | No data |
| Licence | Proprietary | Open weights |
| Capabilities | Vision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching, Batch API | Vision, Tool calling, Self-hostable |
| API model id | gemini-3.1-pro-preview | ministral-8b-2512 |
Benchmarks side by side
Leader in bold.
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.1 Pro | Ministral 3 8B |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Index | 29.7 | 5.5 |
| Terminal-Bench Hard | 53.8% | 4.5% |
| SciCode | 58.7% | 20.7% |
| GPQA Diamond | 94.1% | 47.1% |
| Humanity's Last Exam | 47% | 4.3% |
| IFBench (instruction following) | 77.1% | 29.1% |
| τ²-Bench (agentic tool use) | 95.6% | 26.6% |
| MMMU-Pro (visual reasoning) | 82.4% | 46% |
| Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 82% | 25.7% |
Independent evaluations by Artificial Analysis, run the same way for every model, at the reasoning setting shown. Percentages unless marked as an index.
Frequently asked questions
Should I choose Gemini 3.1 Pro or Ministral 3 8B?
Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro for very long inputs, the hardest reasoning tasks, agentic coding, tool use and support agents, reasoning over long documents and the latest release. Choose Ministral 3 8B for self-hosting and data control.
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3.1 Pro or Ministral 3 8B?
A price comparison is not possible: one of them has no comparable published price.
Which has the larger context window, Gemini 3.1 Pro or Ministral 3 8B?
Gemini 3.1 Pro reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 256k.
What is the difference between Gemini 3.1 Pro and Ministral 3 8B?
Gemini 3.1 Pro is made by Google and Ministral 3 8B by Mistral AI. A price comparison is not possible: one of them has no comparable published price. Gemini 3.1 Pro reads more per request: 1.05M tokens against 256k. Gemini 3.1 Pro is the newer model (February 2026, against December 2025). Only Gemini 3.1 Pro offers reasoning, structured output, prompt caching, batch api. Only Ministral 3 8B offers self-hostable.
Which is better for coding, Gemini 3.1 Pro or Ministral 3 8B?
Gemini 3.1 Pro scores 53.8% on Terminal-Bench Hard, against 4.5% for Ministral 3 8B.
Which is newer, Gemini 3.1 Pro or Ministral 3 8B?
Gemini 3.1 Pro was released on February 2026 and Ministral 3 8B on December 2025.