Model Comparison
MiniMax M2 vs Qwen2 72B InstructWhich is better in 2026?
MiniMax M2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: MiniMax M2 vs Qwen2 72B Instruct — which is better?
MiniMax M2 (by MiniMax) and Qwen2 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 M2 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Qwen2 72B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks. MiniMax M2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Choose MiniMax M2 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2025
Choose Qwen2 72B Instruct if…
- you are already invested in the Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team ecosystem
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
MiniMax M2 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Qwen2 72B Instruct is better at 0 benchmarks.
MiniMax M2 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
MiniMax M2 has 158.0B more parameters than Qwen2 72B Instruct, making it 219.4% 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).
License
Usage and distribution terms
MiniMax M2 is licensed under MIT, while Qwen2 72B Instruct uses tongyi-qianwen.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
tongyi-qianwen
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
MiniMax M2 was released on 2025-10-27, while Qwen2 72B Instruct was released on 2024-07-23.
MiniMax M2 is 15 months newer than Qwen2 72B Instruct.
Oct 27, 2025
7 months ago
1.3yr newerJul 23, 2024
1.9 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
Key Takeaways
MiniMax M2
View detailsMiniMax
Qwen2 72B Instruct
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about MiniMax M2 vs Qwen2 72B Instruct.