MiniMax M2.5 vs Qwen3.8-27B
Qwen3.8-27B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
MiniMax · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
MiniMax M2.5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3.8-27B is better at 1 benchmark (SWE-Bench Pro). Qwen3.8-27B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose MiniMax M2.5
- you want predictable pricing at $0.30/M input and $1.20/M output
Choose Qwen3.8-27B
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
MiniMax M2.5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3.8-27B is better at 1 benchmark (SWE-Bench Pro).
Qwen3.8-27B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
MiniMax M2.5 has 202.2B more parameters than Qwen3.8-27B, making it 727.9% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only MiniMax M2.5 specifies input context (1,000,000 tokens). Only MiniMax M2.5 specifies output context (1,000,000 tokens).
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Qwen3.8-27B supports multimodal inputs, whereas MiniMax M2.5 does not.
Qwen3.8-27B can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
MiniMax M2.5
Qwen3.8-27B
License
Usage and distribution terms
MiniMax M2.5 is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3.8-27B 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 M2.5 was released on 2026-02-12, while Qwen3.8-27B was released on 2026-08-14.
Qwen3.8-27B is 6 months newer than MiniMax M2.5.
Feb 12, 2026
6 months ago
Aug 14, 2026
1 weeks ago
6mo newerKnowledge 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 M2.5 and Qwen3.8-27B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about MiniMax M2.5 vs Qwen3.8-27B.