Model Comparison

MAI-Code-1-Flash vs MiniMax M3Which is better in 2026?

MiniMax M3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: MAI-Code-1-Flash vs MiniMax M3 — which is better?

MAI-Code-1-Flash (by Microsoft) 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.

MAI-Code-1-Flash outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while MiniMax M3 is better at 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Pro, SWE-Bench Verified). MiniMax M3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose MAI-Code-1-Flash if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026

Choose MiniMax M3 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

MAI-Code-1-Flash outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while MiniMax M3 is better at 2 benchmarks (SWE-Bench Pro, SWE-Bench Verified).

MiniMax M3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only MiniMax M3 specifies input context (512,000 tokens). Only MiniMax M3 specifies output context (131,072 tokens).

Microsoft
MAI-Code-1-Flash
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
MiniMax
MiniMax M3
Input512,000 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

MiniMax M3 supports multimodal inputs, whereas MAI-Code-1-Flash does not.

MiniMax M3 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

MAI-Code-1-Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

MiniMax M3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

MAI-Code-1-Flash 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.

MAI-Code-1-Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

MiniMax M3

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

MAI-Code-1-Flash was released on 2026-06-02, while MiniMax M3 was released on 2026-06-01.

MAI-Code-1-Flash is 0 month newer than MiniMax M3.

MAI-Code-1-Flash

Jun 2, 2026

1 months ago

1d 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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion

Key Takeaways

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Larger context window (512,000 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Has open weights
Higher SWE-Bench Pro score (59.0% vs 51.2%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (80.5% vs 71.6%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

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

MAI-Code-1-Flash
✓ Preferred
MiniMax M3
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Microsoft
MAI-Code-1-Flash
MiniMax
MiniMax M3

FAQ

Common questions about MAI-Code-1-Flash vs MiniMax M3.

Which is better, MAI-Code-1-Flash or MiniMax M3?

MiniMax M3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. MAI-Code-1-Flash is made by Microsoft 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 MAI-Code-1-Flash compare to MiniMax M3 in benchmarks?

MAI-Code-1-Flash scores AIME 2026: 92.5%, GPQA: 84.6%, IFBench: 75.0%, Tau2 Telecom: 71.7%, SWE-Bench Verified: 71.6%. MiniMax M3 scores OmniDocBench 1.5: 91.6%, SpreadSheetBench-v1: 89.3%, USAMO 2026: 85.7%, Video-MME: 85.4%, VideoMMMU: 84.6%.

What are the context window sizes for MAI-Code-1-Flash and MiniMax M3?

MAI-Code-1-Flash supports an unknown number of 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 MAI-Code-1-Flash and MiniMax M3?

Key differences include multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes MAI-Code-1-Flash and MiniMax M3?

MAI-Code-1-Flash is developed by Microsoft and MiniMax M3 is developed by MiniMax.