MiniMax M2 vs Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
MiniMax M2 leads the LLM Stats Score 26.9 to 4.2.
MiniMax · Mistral AI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
MiniMax M2 leads the overall LLM Stats Score 26.9 to 4.2, ranking #145 overall.
In the 2 individual benchmarks reported for both models, MiniMax M2 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 MiniMax M2
- overall performance matters — it scores 26.9 and ranks #145 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 2 of 2 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2025
Choose Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
- you are already invested in the Mistral AI ecosystem
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
16 reported for MiniMax M2 · 9 for Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
MiniMax M2 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
MiniMax M2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
MiniMax M2 has 206.0B more parameters than Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct, making it 858.3% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only MiniMax M2 specifies input context (1,000,000 tokens). Only MiniMax M2 specifies output context (1,000,000 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas MiniMax M2 does not.
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
MiniMax M2
Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
MiniMax M2 is licensed under MIT, while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
MiniMax M2 was released on 2025-10-27, while Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct was released on 2025-03-17.
MiniMax M2 is 7 months newer than Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct.
Oct 27, 2025
10 months ago
7mo newerMar 17, 2025
1.5 years 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 MiniMax M2 and Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about MiniMax M2 vs Mistral Small 3.1 24B Instruct.
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