Claude Sonnet 5 vs MiniMax M3
Claude Sonnet 5 leads the LLM Stats Score 48.3 to 41.4. MiniMax M3 is 8.2x cheaper per token.
Anthropic · MiniMax · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Claude Sonnet 5 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 48.3 to 41.4, ranking #23 overall.
In the 7 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Claude Sonnet 5 wins 6; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, MiniMax M3 is roughly 8.2x 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.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Claude Sonnet 5
- overall performance matters — it scores 48.3 and ranks #23 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and agents — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 6 of 7 exact shared results
- 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
- cost matters — it's about 8.2x 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
23 reported for Claude Sonnet 5 · 35 for MiniMax M3
Claude Sonnet 5 outperforms in 6 benchmarks (BrowseComp, FrontierCode 1.1, 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.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($2.00/1M tokens) is 7.1x more expensive than MiniMax M3 ($0.28/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($10.00/1M tokens) is 9.1x more expensive than MiniMax M3 ($1.10/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 5 is more expensive than MiniMax M3.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Claude Sonnet 5 accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to MiniMax M3's 524,288 tokens. MiniMax M3 can generate longer responses up to 524,288 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
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
MiniMax M3
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.
Proprietary
Closed source
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.
Jun 30, 2026
2 months ago
4w newerJun 1, 2026
3 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 Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic, DeepInfra. MiniMax M3 is available from DeepInfra, Fireworks, MiniMax, Novita, Together.
Claude Sonnet 5
MiniMax M3
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Claude Sonnet 5 and MiniMax M3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Claude Sonnet 5 vs MiniMax M3.