Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 5 vs MiniMax M2.7Which is better in 2026?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. MiniMax M2.7 is 11.4x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Sonnet 5 vs MiniMax M2.7 — which is better?

Claude Sonnet 5 (by Anthropic) and MiniMax M2.7 (by MiniMax) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

Claude Sonnet 5 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (GDPval-AA, SWE-bench Multilingual, SWE-Bench Pro, Terminal-Bench 2.0, Toolathlon), while MiniMax M2.7 is better at 0 benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, MiniMax M2.7 is roughly 11.4x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Claude Sonnet 5 also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 5 of 5 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026

Choose MiniMax M2.7 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 11.4x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

5 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 5 outperforms in 5 benchmarks (GDPval-AA, SWE-bench Multilingual, SWE-Bench Pro, Terminal-Bench 2.0, Toolathlon), while MiniMax M2.7 is better at 0 benchmarks.

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

MiniMax M2.7 costs less

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than MiniMax M2.7 ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 12.5x more expensive than MiniMax M2.7 ($1.20/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 5 is more expensive than MiniMax M2.7.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
MiniMax
MiniMax M2.7
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
Best providerFireworks
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Claude Sonnet 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to MiniMax M2.7's 196,608 tokens. MiniMax M2.7 can generate longer responses up to 196,608 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
MiniMax
MiniMax M2.7
Input196,608 tokens
Output196,608 tokens
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Claude Sonnet 5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas MiniMax M2.7 does not.

Claude Sonnet 5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Claude Sonnet 5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

MiniMax M2.7

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Sonnet 5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while MiniMax M2.7 uses MIT.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

Claude Sonnet 5

Proprietary

Closed source

MiniMax M2.7

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 5 was released on 2026-06-30, while MiniMax M2.7 was released on 2026-03-18.

Claude Sonnet 5 is 3 months newer than MiniMax M2.7.

Claude Sonnet 5

Jun 30, 2026

2 weeks ago

3mo newer
MiniMax M2.7

Mar 18, 2026

4 months ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic. MiniMax M2.7 is available from Fireworks, MiniMax, Novita.

Claude Sonnet 5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

MiniMax M2.7

fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
minimax logo
MiniMax
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GDPval-AA score (53.9% vs 39.3%)
Higher SWE-bench Multilingual score (78.3% vs 76.5%)
Higher SWE-Bench Pro score (63.2% vs 56.2%)
Higher Terminal-Bench 2.0 score (80.4% vs 57.0%)
Higher Toolathlon score (54.3% vs 46.3%)
MiniMax
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Sonnet 5 and MiniMax M2.7 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Sonnet 5
✓ Preferred
MiniMax M2.7
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
MiniMax
MiniMax M2.7

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 5 vs MiniMax M2.7.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 5 or MiniMax M2.7?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 5 is made by Anthropic and MiniMax M2.7 is made by MiniMax. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Sonnet 5 compare to MiniMax M2.7 in benchmarks?

Claude Sonnet 5 scores CharXiv-R: 88.3%, ChartMuseum: 86.7%, SWE-Bench Verified: 85.2%, BrowseComp: 84.7%, GDP.pdf: 81.6%. MiniMax M2.7 scores SWE-bench Multilingual: 76.5%, MLE-Bench Lite: 66.6%, MM-ClawBench: 62.7%, Terminal-Bench 2.0: 57.0%, SWE-Bench Pro: 56.2%.

Is Claude Sonnet 5 cheaper than MiniMax M2.7?

MiniMax M2.7 is 10.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 5 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. MiniMax M2.7 costs $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output via fireworks.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 5 and MiniMax M2.7?

Claude Sonnet 5 supports 1.0M tokens and MiniMax M2.7 supports 197K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Sonnet 5 and MiniMax M2.7?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 197K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.30/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Sonnet 5 and MiniMax M2.7?

Claude Sonnet 5 is developed by Anthropic and MiniMax M2.7 is developed by MiniMax.

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