MiniMax M3 vs Qwen3.8 Max
Qwen3.8 Max leads the LLM Stats Score 53.0 to 41.9. MiniMax M3 is 4.7x cheaper per token.
MiniMax · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Qwen3.8 Max leads the overall LLM Stats Score 53.0 to 41.9, ranking #8 overall.
In the 6 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Qwen3.8 Max wins 6; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, MiniMax M3 is roughly 4.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
MiniMax M3 also accepts a larger context window (512,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose MiniMax M3
- cost matters — it's about 4.7x cheaper per token
- you process long inputs — it offers a 512,000 token context window
Choose Qwen3.8 Max
- overall performance matters — it scores 53.0 and ranks #8 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 6 of 6 exact shared results
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Aug 2026
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
35 reported for MiniMax M3 · 42 for Qwen3.8 Max
MiniMax M3 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3.8 Max is better at 6 benchmarks (MMMU-Pro, NL2Repo, OSWorld-Verified, PaperBench, SWE-Bench Pro, Terminal-Bench 2.1).
Qwen3.8 Max significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, MiniMax M3 ($0.30/1M tokens) is 5.5x cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max ($1.65/1M tokens).
For output processing, MiniMax M3 ($1.20/1M tokens) is 4.1x cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max ($4.95/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Qwen3.8 Max is more expensive than MiniMax M3.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Qwen3.8 Max has 1972.0B more parameters than MiniMax M3, making it 460.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
MiniMax M3 accepts 512,000 input tokens compared to Qwen3.8 Max's 256,000 tokens. Both models can generate responses up to 131,072 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.8 Max support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
MiniMax M3
Qwen3.8 Max
License
Usage and distribution terms
MiniMax M3 is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3.8 Max uses Qwen3.8-Max License.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT
Open weights
Qwen3.8-Max License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
MiniMax M3 was released on 2026-06-01, while Qwen3.8 Max was released on 2026-08-02.
Qwen3.8 Max is 2 months newer than MiniMax M3.
Jun 1, 2026
2 months ago
Aug 2, 2026
3 weeks ago
2mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
MiniMax M3 is available from Fireworks, MiniMax, Novita, Together. Qwen3.8 Max is available from DeepInfra, Fireworks, Novita, Together.
MiniMax M3
Qwen3.8 Max
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.8 Max side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about MiniMax M3 vs Qwen3.8 Max.