Mistral Large 4 vs Qwen3.8 27B: price, context and capabilities

Choose Mistral Large 4 for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, self-hosting and data control and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.

In short

  • Mistral Large 4 is 3% cheaper than Qwen3.8 27B at the headline price ($0.75 / 1M tokens vs $0.775 / 1M tokens).
  • Both accept 1M tokens per request.
  • Mistral Large 4 is the newer model (October 2026, against Aug 14, 2026).
  • Only Mistral Large 4 offers self-hostable.
  • Only Qwen3.8 27B offers reasoning, prompt caching.

Open in the full comparison table

What a month costsAt 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month.
  1. Mistral Large 4Mistral AI$17.50
  2. Qwen3.8 27BAlibaba Cloud (Qwen)$16.50

Try your own volumes in the calculator

Which should you choose?

Each answer below comes straight from the published prices, specifications and independent benchmark results.

High-volume, cost-sensitive work

Choose Mistral Large 4

Mistral Large 4 costs 3% less on a typical mix of three input tokens for every output token ($0.75 against $0.78 per million tokens).

Writing and code generation

Choose Mistral Large 4

Mistral Large 4 charges $1.50 per million output tokens, against $2.50 for Qwen3.8 27B. Output dominates the bill when answers are long.

Self-hosting and data control

Choose Mistral Large 4

Mistral Large 4 has open weights, so you can run it on your own servers; Qwen3.8 27B is only available through its provider.

Latest release

Choose Mistral Large 4

Mistral Large 4 is the newer release (October 2026, against Aug 14, 2026 for Qwen3.8 27B).

Monthly cost at three volumes

VolumeMistral Large 4Qwen3.8 27BDifference
Prototype: 1M input, 250K output tokens $0.88 $0.83 Qwen3.8 27B, $0.05 less
Production: 20M input, 5M output tokens $17.50 $16.50 Qwen3.8 27B, $1.00 less
Scale: 500M input, 100M output tokens $400.00 $350.00 Qwen3.8 27B, $50.00 less

Standard rates, without caching or batch discounts. Volumes are per month.

Specifications side by side

Mistral Large 4Qwen3.8 27B
ProviderMistral AIAlibaba Cloud (Qwen)
CategoryLanguage modelsLanguage models
StatusPreviewGenerally available
Headline price$0.75 / 1M tokens$0.775 / 1M tokens
Input$0.50 / 1M tokens$0.20 / 1M tokens
Output$1.50 / 1M tokens$2.50 / 1M tokens
Cached inputNo data$0.09 / 1M tokens
Context window1M1M
Max outputNo data236k
ReleasedOctober 2026Aug 14, 2026
Knowledge cutoffNo dataNo data
LicenceOpen weightsProprietary
CapabilitiesVision, Tool calling, Structured output, Self-hostableVision, Reasoning, Tool calling, Structured output, Prompt caching
API model idmistral-large-4qwen3.8-27b

Benchmarks side by side

Leader in bold.

BenchmarkMistral Large 4Qwen3.8 27B
Intelligence Index 38.4 No data
SciCode 54.2% No data
Humanity's Last Exam 35% No data
MMMU-Pro (visual reasoning) 76.4% No data
Long-context reasoning (AA-LCR) 81.3% No data

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 Mistral Large 4 or Qwen3.8 27B?

Choose Mistral Large 4 for high-volume, cost-sensitive work, writing and code generation, self-hosting and data control and the latest release; on the other points the two are level or the data is missing.

Which is cheaper, Mistral Large 4 or Qwen3.8 27B?

Mistral Large 4 is 3% cheaper than Qwen3.8 27B at the headline price ($0.75 / 1M tokens vs $0.775 / 1M tokens).

Which has the larger context window, Mistral Large 4 or Qwen3.8 27B?

Both accept 1M tokens per request.

What is the difference between Mistral Large 4 and Qwen3.8 27B?

Mistral Large 4 is made by Mistral AI and Qwen3.8 27B by Alibaba Cloud (Qwen). Mistral Large 4 is 3% cheaper than Qwen3.8 27B at the headline price ($0.75 / 1M tokens vs $0.775 / 1M tokens). Both accept 1M tokens per request. Mistral Large 4 is the newer model (October 2026, against Aug 14, 2026). Only Mistral Large 4 offers self-hostable. Only Qwen3.8 27B offers reasoning, prompt caching.

How much do Mistral Large 4 and Qwen3.8 27B cost per month?

At 20 million input and 5 million output tokens a month, Mistral Large 4 costs $17.50 and Qwen3.8 27B costs $16.50, at standard rates.

Which is newer, Mistral Large 4 or Qwen3.8 27B?

Mistral Large 4 was released on October 2026 and Qwen3.8 27B on Aug 14, 2026.