Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 5 vs MiniMax M3Which is better in 2026?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. MiniMax M3 is 11.4x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Claude Sonnet 5 vs MiniMax M3 — which is better?

Claude Sonnet 5 (by Anthropic) and MiniMax M3 (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 6 benchmarks (BrowseComp, GDPval-AA, OfficeQA Pro, OSWorld-Verified, SWE-Bench Pro, SWE-Bench Verified), while MiniMax M3 is better at 1 benchmark (USAMO 2026). Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, MiniMax M3 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 6 of 7 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 M3 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

7 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 5 outperforms in 6 benchmarks (BrowseComp, GDPval-AA, OfficeQA Pro, OSWorld-Verified, SWE-Bench Pro, SWE-Bench Verified), while MiniMax M3 is better at 1 benchmark (USAMO 2026).

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 M3 costs less

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 10.0x more expensive than MiniMax M3 ($0.30/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 12.5x more expensive than MiniMax M3 ($1.20/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 5 is more expensive than MiniMax M3.*

* 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 M3
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 M3's 512,000 tokens. MiniMax M3 can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
MiniMax
MiniMax M3
Input512,000 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Sonnet 5 and MiniMax M3 support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Claude Sonnet 5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

MiniMax M3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Claude Sonnet 5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while MiniMax M3 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 M3

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 5 was released on 2026-06-30, while MiniMax M3 was released on 2026-06-01.

Claude Sonnet 5 is 1 month newer than MiniMax M3.

Claude Sonnet 5

Jun 30, 2026

2 weeks ago

4w newer
MiniMax M3

Jun 1, 2026

1 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 M3 is available from Fireworks, Novita, Together, MiniMax.

Claude Sonnet 5

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

MiniMax M3

fireworks logo
Fireworks
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
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
minimax logo
MiniMax
Input Price:Input: $0.60/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.40/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Higher BrowseComp score (84.7% vs 83.5%)
Higher GDPval-AA score (53.9% vs 47.7%)
Higher OfficeQA Pro score (59.4% vs 45.1%)
Higher OSWorld-Verified score (81.2% vs 70.1%)
Higher SWE-Bench Pro score (63.2% vs 59.0%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (85.2% vs 80.5%)
MiniMax
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
Higher USAMO 2026 score (85.7% vs 79.5%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Sonnet 5 and MiniMax M3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Sonnet 5
✓ Preferred
MiniMax M3
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
MiniMax
MiniMax M3

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 5 vs MiniMax M3.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 5 or MiniMax M3?

Claude Sonnet 5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 5 is made by Anthropic and MiniMax M3 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 M3 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 M3 scores OmniDocBench 1.5: 91.6%, SpreadSheetBench-v1: 89.3%, USAMO 2026: 85.7%, Video-MME: 85.4%, VideoMMMU: 84.6%.

Is Claude Sonnet 5 cheaper than MiniMax M3?

MiniMax M3 is 10.0x cheaper for input tokens. Claude Sonnet 5 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via anthropic. MiniMax M3 costs $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output via fireworks.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 5 and MiniMax M3?

Claude Sonnet 5 supports 1.0M tokens and MiniMax M3 supports 512K 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 M3?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 512K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.30/M), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Sonnet 5 and MiniMax M3?

Claude Sonnet 5 is developed by Anthropic and MiniMax M3 is developed by MiniMax.

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