How to Use Mistral API for Free: A Complete Guide

Artificial Intelligence is transforming the way businesses operate, making it easier to create, innovate, and deliver exceptional results. Mistral AI, a leader in generative AI services, is paving the way for developers and organizations to build smarter applications. With its flexible API offerings, including Mistral-Medium, businesses can now access powerful tools at competitive prices—or even for free!

In this guide, we’ll explore the features, pricing, and performance of Mistral AI's API and how you can integrate it into your projects through Merlio’s platform.

Contents

Introduction to Mistral AI's API

Free Access to Mistral API: What You Need to Know

Mistral AI Models Overview

Mistral API Pricing Breakdown

Choosing the Right Mistral API for Your Needs

Alternative Providers for Mistral AI Access

Comparison: Mistral-Medium vs. GPT-3.5 Turbo

How to Get Started with Mistral AI API

FAQs

Free Access to Mistral API

Yes, you can now access the Mistral API for free, thanks to its open-source framework. This opportunity allows you to explore the cutting-edge capabilities of models like Mixtral 8x7B, a revolutionary addition to Mistral AI's offerings.

Key Highlights of the Free Access:

• Open-source accessibility for testing and innovation.
• Available through Merlio’s platform, enabling seamless integration.
• Ideal for developers experimenting with generative AI solutions.

Mistral AI Models Overview

Mistral AI offers a range of models designed for various use cases. Here’s a quick breakdown:

Mistral-Tiny

• Focused on cost-efficiency.
• Excels in English-language tasks.
• MT-Bench Score: 7.6.

Mistral-Small

• Multi-language support, including English, French, and German.
• Great for code generation.
• MT-Bench Score: 8.3.

Mistral-Medium

• High-performance model for advanced applications.
• Benchmarks surpassing many competitors like GPT-3.5 Turbo.
• MT-Bench Score: 8.6.

Mistral API Pricing Breakdown

Mistral AI uses a transparent pay-as-you-go pricing structure. Below are the key details:

Chat Completions API Pricing

ModelInput Price (per 1M tokens)Output Price (per 1M tokens)Mistral-Tiny€0.14€0.42Mistral-Small€0.60€1.80Mistral-Medium€2.50€7.50

Embeddings API Pricing

ModelInput Price (per 1M tokens)Mistral-Embed€0.10

Choosing the Right Mistral API

Here’s a quick guide to help you select the right API model based on your needs:

• Mistral-Tiny: Ideal for basic language processing tasks on a budget.
• Mistral-Small: Balanced choice for multi-language tasks and code-related applications.
• Mistral-Medium: The top-tier model for high-performance AI solutions.

Alternative Providers for Mistral API

While Merlio offers comprehensive support for Mistral AI models, other platforms also provide access:

Abacus AI: Competitive pricing for retrieval-based AI solutions.

DeepInfra: Affordable API access with a user-friendly portal.

Together AI: Known for fast inference and diverse options.

Perplexity AI: Generous credits for new users.

Anyscale Endpoints: Efficient API with OpenAI compatibility.

Mistral-Medium vs. GPT-3.5 Turbo

Mistral-Medium has emerged as a strong competitor to OpenAI's GPT-3.5 Turbo, offering similar performance at a fraction of the cost. Its API-exclusive nature, coupled with affordable pricing, makes it a compelling choice for developers seeking value without compromising quality.

FeatureMistral-MediumGPT-3.5 TurboCost€0.0027 / 1k tokensHigherAccessibilityAPI-exclusiveBroad availabilityPerformanceBenchmark-competitiveIndustry-standard

How to Get Started with Mistral API

Follow these simple steps to begin using Mistral AI's API through Merlio:

Register for an API Key
Sign up on Merlio’s platform to obtain your API credentials.

Set Up Your Environment
Use libraries like requests (Python) or axios (Node.js) to interact with the API.

Start Building
Leverage chat completion and embeddings endpoints for your projects.

Example Code (Python)