Model Comparison
MiniMax M1 80K vs Qwen2.5 72B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
MiniMax M1 80K significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is 2.7x cheaper per token.
Verdict: MiniMax M1 80K vs Qwen2.5 72B Instruct — which is better?
MiniMax M1 80K (by MiniMax) and Qwen2.5 72B Instruct (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) 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.
MiniMax M1 80K outperforms in 3 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench, MMLU-Pro), while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. MiniMax M1 80K significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is roughly 2.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
MiniMax M1 80K also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose MiniMax M1 80K if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 3 of 3 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jun 2025
Choose Qwen2.5 72B Instruct if…
- cost matters — it's about 2.7x cheaper per token
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
MiniMax M1 80K outperforms in 3 benchmarks (GPQA, LiveCodeBench, MMLU-Pro), while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
MiniMax M1 80K significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, MiniMax M1 80K ($0.55/1M tokens) is 1.6x more expensive than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct ($0.35/1M tokens).
For output processing, MiniMax M1 80K ($2.20/1M tokens) is 5.5x more expensive than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct ($0.40/1M tokens).
In conclusion, MiniMax M1 80K is more expensive than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
MiniMax M1 80K has 383.3B more parameters than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct, making it 527.2% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
MiniMax M1 80K accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Qwen2.5 72B Instruct's 131,072 tokens. MiniMax M1 80K can generate longer responses up to 40,000 tokens, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is limited to 8,192 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
MiniMax M1 80K is licensed under MIT, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct uses Qwen.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Qwen
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
MiniMax M1 80K was released on 2025-06-16, while Qwen2.5 72B Instruct was released on 2024-09-19.
MiniMax M1 80K is 9 months newer than Qwen2.5 72B Instruct.
Jun 16, 2025
1.0 years ago
9mo newerSep 19, 2024
1.7 years 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
MiniMax M1 80K is available from Novita. Qwen2.5 72B Instruct is available from DeepInfra, Hyperbolic, Fireworks, Together.
MiniMax M1 80K
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
MiniMax M1 80K
View detailsMiniMax
Qwen2.5 72B Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about MiniMax M1 80K vs Qwen2.5 72B Instruct.