Mistral Large 3 vs Claude Haiku 4.5 for coding: which is better in 2026?

A head-to-head look at Mistral Large 3 and Claude Haiku 4.5 for coding. Benchmarks via artificialanalysis.ai, pricing as of May 2026. Compare AI models like these inside Admix.

Quick verdict

For coding in May 2026, Mistral Large 3 edges out Claude Haiku 4.5 on the codingIndex metric. EU data residency options.

Side-by-side specs

Spec	Mistral	Haiku
Intelligence index	69.8	65.8
Coding index	67.4	66.2
Context window	256K tokens	500K tokens
Speed (tok/s)	115	205
Input $/M	$2.00	$0.80
Output $/M	$6.00	$4.00
Released	Jan 14, 2026	Mar 19, 2026

How they handle coding

Mistral Large 3: EU data residency options. The main caveat is behind us labs on raw benchmarks.

Claude Haiku 4.5: Cheap Claude quality for everyday tasks. The main caveat is not as strong as opus on agentic coding.

Cost per 1,000 queries

Assuming 1,500 input and 800 output tokens per query:

Mistral Large 3: $7.80 per 1,000 queries
Claude Haiku 4.5: $4.40 per 1,000 queries

Verdict by sub-task

Best raw quality on coding:
Best price: Claude Haiku 4.5
Longest context: Claude Haiku 4.5
Fastest: Claude Haiku 4.5

FAQ

Is Mistral Large 3 better than Claude Haiku 4.5 for coding?

On May 2026 benchmarks (artificialanalysis.ai), Mistral Large 3 ranks higher than Claude Haiku 4.5 for coding on the codingIndex metric. The gap is small enough that the choice often comes down to price, context length, and tone.

Which is cheaper, Mistral Large 3 or Claude Haiku 4.5?

Mistral Large 3 costs $2.00 input and $6.00 output per million tokens. Claude Haiku 4.5 costs $0.80 input and $4.00 output per million tokens.

Can I use both Mistral and Haiku in one app?

Yes. Admix is a multi model AI chat aggregator that lets you run Mistral Large 3 and Claude Haiku 4.5 side by side under one subscription.

Sources

Benchmarks from artificialanalysis.ai (May 2026).

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