Claude Opus 5 vs MiniMax M2
Claude Opus 5 leads the LLM Stats Score 54.9 to 26.9. MiniMax M2 is 19.0x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · MiniMax · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Opus 5 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 54.9 to 26.9, ranking #5 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Claude Opus 5 wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, MiniMax M2 is roughly 19.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude Opus 5
- overall performance matters — it scores 54.9 and ranks #5 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026
Choose MiniMax M2
- cost matters — it's about 19.0x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
13 reported for Claude Opus 5 · 16 for MiniMax M2
Claude Opus 5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (BrowseComp, Humanity's Last Exam), while MiniMax M2 is better at 0 benchmarks.
Claude Opus 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Opus 5 ($5.00/1M tokens) is 16.7x more expensive than MiniMax M2 ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Opus 5 ($25.00/1M tokens) is 20.8x more expensive than MiniMax M2 ($1.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Opus 5 is more expensive than MiniMax M2.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Both models have the same input context window of 1,000,000 tokens. MiniMax M2 can generate longer responses up to 1,000,000 tokens, while Claude Opus 5 is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Claude Opus 5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas MiniMax M2 does not.
Claude Opus 5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude Opus 5
MiniMax M2
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude Opus 5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while MiniMax M2 uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Opus 5 was released on 2026-07-24, while MiniMax M2 was released on 2025-10-27.
Claude Opus 5 is 9 months newer than MiniMax M2.
Jul 24, 2026
1 months ago
9mo newerOct 27, 2025
10 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Claude Opus 5 is available from Anthropic, DeepInfra. MiniMax M2 is available from MiniMax, Novita.
Claude Opus 5
MiniMax M2
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Opus 5 and MiniMax M2 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Opus 5 vs MiniMax M2.