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Inkling-Small vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 48.7 to 38.2. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 2.0x cheaper per token.

Thinking Machines Lab · MiniMax · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 48.7 to 38.2, ranking #29 overall.

In the 1 individual benchmarks reported for both models, MiniMax M3.1 Flash wins 1; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

On price, MiniMax M3.1 Flash is roughly 2.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash 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 Inkling-Small

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose MiniMax M3.1 Flash

  • overall performance matters — it scores 48.7 and ranks #29 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 1 of 1 exact shared results
  • cost matters — it's about 2.0x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2026

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Inkling-Small
Thinking Machines Lab
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
38.2
#83
48.7
#29
Reasoning
37.6
#84
45.9
#32
Coding
28.2
#74
37.9
#23
Agents
22.5
#77
35.7
#22
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
0 of 1
1 of 1
Input price
$0.30 / M
$0.15 / M
Output price
$1.20 / M
$0.60 / M
Context window
256,000
1,000,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

3 shared
Index
Inkling-Small
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Vision
20.2#87
28.9#42
Tool use
18.5#80
27.1#27
Multimodal
17.2#94
30.2#38
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

24 reported for Inkling-Small · 15 for MiniMax M3.1 Flash

1 shared

Inkling-Small outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while MiniMax M3.1 Flash is better at 1 benchmark (CharXiv-R).

MiniMax M3.1 Flash significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs less

For input processing, Inkling-Small ($0.30/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, Inkling-Small ($1.20/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.60/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Inkling-Small is more expensive than MiniMax M3.1 Flash.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com
Thinking Machines Lab
Inkling-Small
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
Best providerUnknown Organization
MiniMax
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerMiniMax
Notice missing or incorrect data?

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

MiniMax M3.1 Flash accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Inkling-Small's 256,000 tokens. MiniMax M3.1 Flash can generate longer responses up to 524,288 tokens, while Inkling-Small is limited to 256,000 tokens.

Thinking Machines Lab
Inkling-Small
Input256,000 tokens
Output256,000 tokens
MiniMax
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output524,288 tokens
Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Both Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3.1 Flash support multimodal inputs.

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

Inkling-Small

Text
Images
Audio
Video

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Inkling-Small is licensed under Apache 2.0, while MiniMax M3.1 Flash uses a proprietary license.

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

Inkling-Small

Apache 2.0

Open weights

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Inkling-Small was released on 2026-07-30, while MiniMax M3.1 Flash was released on 2026-10-19.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 3 months newer than Inkling-Small.

Inkling-Small

Jul 30, 2026

2 months ago

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Oct 19, 2026

0 days ago

2mo newer

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

Inkling-Small is available from Thinking Machines Lab, DeepInfra. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is available from MiniMax.

Inkling-Small

thinking-machines logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M
deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.45/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

minimax logo
MiniMax
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3.1 Flash side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Inkling-Small
✓ Preferred
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Inkling-Small vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash.

Which is better, Inkling-Small or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 48.7 to 38.2. Inkling-Small is made by Thinking Machines Lab and MiniMax M3.1 Flash is made by MiniMax. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does Inkling-Small compare to MiniMax M3.1 Flash in benchmarks?

Inkling-Small scores AIME 2026: 95.5%, VoiceBench Avg: 90.1%, GPQA: 89.5%, Global-MMLU-Lite: 86.7%, ARC-AGI: 84.0%. MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores BabyVision: 91.0%, CharXiv-R: 82.5%, CyberGym: 82.2%, BankerToolBench: 76.2%, DeepSWE 1.1: 73.7%.

Is Inkling-Small cheaper than MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 2.0x cheaper for input tokens. Inkling-Small costs $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output via thinking-machines. MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.15/M input and $0.60/M output via minimax.

What are the context window sizes for Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

Inkling-Small supports 256K tokens and MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports 1.0M tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (38.2 vs 48.7), context window (256K vs 1.0M), input pricing ($0.30 vs $0.15/M), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Inkling-Small and MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

Inkling-Small is developed by Thinking Machines Lab and MiniMax M3.1 Flash is developed by MiniMax.

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