Mistral Small 3.2 — Local AI Model by Mistral AI

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated September 6, 2026

A reliability release rather than a capability one. Same 24B architecture as Small 3.1, with instruction-following, function-calling robustness and output stability fixed — Arena Hard more than doubles (19.56% to 43.10%) and the infinite-repetition rate halves. If you were running 3.1, this is a drop-in upgrade with no new hardware cost.

Licence

LicenceWhat it permitsApplies to
Apache-2.0Commercial use permitted
Commercial use permitted. No usage restrictions beyond attribution.
Mistral Small 3.2 24B

Hardware Requirements

Mistral Small 3.2 24BMin 15 GB VRAM · Q4_K_M · 131,072 ctx · ollama run mistral-small:24b

Recommended GPU

The cheapest GPU that runs Mistral Small 3.2 locally (min 15 GB VRAM) is the AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB (16 GB).

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AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB
16 GB VRAM · 160 W board power
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How to Run Locally

Install Ollama then run: ollama run mistral-small:24b

Minimum VRAM: 15 GB. For best results use Q4_K_M quantization.

Mistral Small 3.2 — Frequently Asked Questions

How much VRAM does Mistral Small 3.2 need?

Mistral Small 3.2 needs about 15 GB VRAM at Q4_K_M quantization for its smallest variant. Variants: Mistral Small 3.2 24B (15 GB, Q4_K_M). On Apple Silicon, unified memory counts toward this requirement.

Can I run Mistral Small 3.2 on an RTX 4090 (24 GB)?

Yes — Mistral Small 3.2 runs on an RTX 4090 (24 GB) and other 24 GB cards such as the RTX 3090. Smaller variants also fit comfortably on 8–16 GB GPUs at Q4_K_M.

What quantization should I use for Mistral Small 3.2?

Q4_K_M is the best balance of quality and VRAM for Mistral Small 3.2 in most cases. Choose Q8_0 for near-lossless quality if you have spare VRAM, or smaller quants (Q3/Q2) only when memory is tight.

How do I run Mistral Small 3.2 with Ollama?

Install Ollama, then run: ollama run mistral-small:24b. This downloads Mistral Small 3.2 and starts a local, OpenAI-compatible endpoint — no internet connection is needed after the initial download.

Can I Run Mistral Small 3.2 on My GPU?