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MiniMax M2.5 vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 48.7 to 36.6. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 2.0x cheaper per token.

MiniMax · MiniMax · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 48.7 to 36.6, ranking #29 overall.

On price, MiniMax M3.1 Flash is roughly 2.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose MiniMax M2.5

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose MiniMax M3.1 Flash

  • overall performance matters — it scores 48.7 and ranks #29 on LLM Stats
  • your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
  • cost matters — it's about 2.0x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2026

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

MiniMax M2.5
MiniMax
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
36.6
#91
48.7
#29
Reasoning
36.7
#91
45.9
#32
Coding
26.5
#81
37.9
#23
Agents
17.1
#98
35.7
#22
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$0.30 / M
$0.15 / M
Output price
$1.20 / M
$0.60 / M
Context window
1,000,000
1,000,000

Individual benchmarks

8 reported for MiniMax M2.5 · 15 for MiniMax M3.1 Flash

No common benchmarks found

MiniMax M2.5 and MiniMax M3.1 Flashdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs less

For input processing, MiniMax M2.5 ($0.30/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.15/1M tokens).

For output processing, MiniMax M2.5 ($1.20/1M tokens) is 2.0x more expensive than MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.60/1M tokens).

In conclusion, MiniMax M2.5 is more expensive than MiniMax M3.1 Flash.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com
MiniMax
MiniMax M2.5
Input tokens$0.30
Output tokens$1.20
Best providerMiniMax
MiniMax
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerMiniMax
Notice missing or incorrect data?

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 1,000,000 tokens. MiniMax M2.5 can generate longer responses up to 1,000,000 tokens, while MiniMax M3.1 Flash is limited to 524,288 tokens.

MiniMax
MiniMax M2.5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output1,000,000 tokens
MiniMax
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output524,288 tokens
Fri Oct 23 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas MiniMax M2.5 does not.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

MiniMax M2.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

MiniMax M2.5 is licensed under MIT, while MiniMax M3.1 Flash uses a proprietary license.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

MiniMax M2.5

MIT

Open weights

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

MiniMax M2.5 was released on 2026-02-12, while MiniMax M3.1 Flash was released on 2026-10-19.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 8 months newer than MiniMax M2.5.

MiniMax M2.5

Feb 12, 2026

8 months ago

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Oct 19, 2026

0 days ago

8mo newer

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

Provider Availability

MiniMax M2.5 is available from MiniMax. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is available from MiniMax.

MiniMax M2.5

minimax logo
MiniMax
Input Price:Input: $0.30/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.20/1M

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

minimax logo
MiniMax
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against MiniMax M2.5 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

MiniMax M2.5
✓ Preferred
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about MiniMax M2.5 vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash.

Which is better, MiniMax M2.5 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 48.7 to 36.6. MiniMax M2.5 is made by MiniMax and MiniMax M3.1 Flash is made by MiniMax. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does MiniMax M2.5 compare to MiniMax M3.1 Flash in benchmarks?

MiniMax M2.5 scores SWE-Bench Verified: 80.2%, BFCL_v3_MultiTurn: 76.8%, BrowseComp: 76.3%, MEWC: 74.4%, GDPval-MM: 59.0%. MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores BabyVision: 91.0%, CharXiv-R: 82.5%, CyberGym: 82.2%, BankerToolBench: 76.2%, DeepSWE 1.1: 73.7%.

Is MiniMax M2.5 cheaper than MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 2.0x cheaper for input tokens. MiniMax M2.5 costs $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output via minimax. MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.15/M input and $0.60/M output via minimax.

What are the context window sizes for MiniMax M2.5 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

MiniMax M2.5 supports 1.0M tokens and MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports 1.0M tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between MiniMax M2.5 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (36.6 vs 48.7), input pricing ($0.30 vs $0.15/M), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (MIT vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

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