Mistral 7B Environmental Impact
Foundational open-source model that launched Mistral AI
Energy per query
0.25 Wh
about the same as a Google search (0.3 Wh)
CO2 per query
0.01 g
Global Average grid (458 gCO₂/kWh)
Water per query
0.25 mL
~4,000 queries to fill 1 litre
Processing location
Self-hosted (varies)
Provider
Mistral AI
Category
Text / Chat
Grid carbon intensity
458 g CO2/kWh (32% renewable)
How does Mistral 7B compare?
Detailed Breakdown
Energy Consumption
Mistral 7B was a breakthrough in small model efficiency when released, outperforming LLaMA 2 13B on most benchmarks. At ~0.25 Wh per query, it remains one of the most efficient capable models and has been fine-tuned into thousands of variants. We report its CO2 and water against Mistral's French-grid reference factors (50 gCO2/kWh, ~1.0 L/kWh cooling), consistent with the rest of the Mistral family.
Power Source & Carbon
Fully open-source (Apache 2.0), deployable anywhere. One of the most self-hosted models globally. Mistral AI is based in Paris, France, where the grid is 90% low-carbon (nuclear + renewables).
Water Usage
At ~0.25 mL per query on Mistral's French-grid reference (~1.0 L/kWh), Mistral 7B has a minimal water footprint. When self-hosted on consumer hardware, water usage drops to zero.
About Mistral 7B
Mistral 7B is an open-source text and chat model from Mistral AI, released in September 27, 2023, that runs well below the category average for energy consumption at 0.25 Wh per query. Because its weights are publicly available, it can be self-hosted on any infrastructure — meaning its carbon footprint depends entirely on where and how you choose to run it. At 7.3B parameters, it foundational open-source model that launched mistral ai.
These figures are estimates derived from hardware specifications and API benchmarks — Mistral AI has not published official energy data for Mistral 7B. Actual consumption may vary significantly depending on batching, quantisation, and infrastructure optimisations that we cannot observe from outside.
Key Insights
Mistral AI Mistral Family
How energy efficiency has evolved across versions.
What does your Mistral 7B usage cost the planet?
Use our calculator to estimate your personal environmental footprint based on how often you use Mistral 7B.
Calculate My ComputeFrequently Asked Questions
How much energy does Mistral 7B use per query?
Each Mistral 7B query consumes approximately 0.25 Wh of energy. This is about the same as a traditional Google search (~0.3 Wh).
What is Mistral 7B's carbon footprint?
Based on the carbon intensity of Self-hosted (varies), each query produces approximately 0.01 g of CO2. The grid in this region has a carbon intensity of 458 g CO2/kWh with 32% renewable energy.
How much water does Mistral 7B use?
Each query consumes approximately 0.25 mL of water, primarily used for cooling the data centers that process the request.
How does Mistral 7B compare to a Google search?
A Mistral 7B query uses about the same as a Google search in terms of energy. A Google search uses approximately 0.3 Wh, while Mistral 7B uses 0.25 Wh.
Technical Details
Architecture
Dense Transformer with Sliding Window Attention
Parameters
7.3B
Context window
32,000 tokens
Release date
2023-09-27
Open source
Yes
Training data cutoff
2023-09