Inkling-Small vs MiniMax M3
Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3 are closely matched at 39.3 and 41.9 on the LLM Stats Score. Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3 cost the same.
Thinking Machines Lab · MiniMax · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3 are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 39.3 and 41.9.
In the 6 individual benchmarks reported for both models, MiniMax M3 wins 5; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
MiniMax M3 also accepts a larger context window (512,000 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 Inkling-Small
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026
Choose MiniMax M3
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 5 of 6 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 512,000 token context window
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
24 reported for Inkling-Small · 35 for MiniMax M3
Inkling-Small outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MCP Atlas), while MiniMax M3 is better at 5 benchmarks (BrowseComp, MMMU-Pro, SWE-Bench Pro, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.1).
MiniMax M3 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, Inkling-Small ($0.30/1M tokens) costs the same as MiniMax M3 ($0.30/1M tokens).
For output processing, Inkling-Small ($1.20/1M tokens) costs the same as MiniMax M3 ($1.20/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3 cost the same.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
MiniMax M3 has 152.0B more parameters than Inkling-Small, making it 55.1% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
MiniMax M3 accepts 512,000 input tokens compared to Inkling-Small's 256,000 tokens. Inkling-Small can generate longer responses up to 256,000 tokens, while MiniMax M3 is limited to 131,072 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Inkling-Small
MiniMax M3
License
Usage and distribution terms
Inkling-Small is licensed under Apache 2.0, while MiniMax M3 uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Inkling-Small was released on 2026-07-30, while MiniMax M3 was released on 2026-06-01.
Inkling-Small is 2 months newer than MiniMax M3.
Jul 30, 2026
4 weeks ago
1mo newerJun 1, 2026
2 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
Inkling-Small is available from Thinking Machines Lab. MiniMax M3 is available from Fireworks, MiniMax, Novita, Together.
Inkling-Small
MiniMax M3
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Inkling-Small vs MiniMax M3.