MAI-Thinking-1 vs MiniMax M3
MiniMax M3 leads the LLM Stats Score 41.4 to 33.0.
Microsoft · MiniMax · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
MiniMax M3 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 41.4 to 33.0, ranking #50 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, MiniMax M3 wins 2; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose MAI-Thinking-1
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2026
Choose MiniMax M3
- overall performance matters — it scores 41.4 and ranks #50 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- 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 MAI-Thinking-1 · 35 for MiniMax M3
MAI-Thinking-1 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.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
MAI-Thinking-1 has 572.0B more parameters than MiniMax M3, making it 133.6% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only MiniMax M3 specifies input context (524,288 tokens). Only MiniMax M3 specifies output context (524,288 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
MiniMax M3 supports multimodal inputs, whereas MAI-Thinking-1 does not.
MiniMax M3 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
MAI-Thinking-1
MiniMax M3
License
Usage and distribution terms
MAI-Thinking-1 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
MAI-Thinking-1 was released on 2026-06-02, while MiniMax M3 was released on 2026-06-01.
MAI-Thinking-1 is 0 month newer than MiniMax M3.
Jun 2, 2026
3 months ago
1d 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.
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against MAI-Thinking-1 and MiniMax M3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about MAI-Thinking-1 vs MiniMax M3.