MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 48.5 to -4.1. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is 2.6x cheaper per token.
MiniMax · Microsoft · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 48.5 to -4.1, ranking #29 overall.
On price, Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is roughly 2.6x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 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 M3.1 Flash
- overall performance matters — it scores 48.5 and ranks #29 on LLM Stats
- your work emphasizes reasoning and coding — it leads those capability indexes
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Oct 2026
Choose Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
- cost matters — it's about 2.6x cheaper per token
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Individual benchmarks
14 reported for MiniMax M3.1 Flash · 31 for Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Phi-3.5-mini-instructdon'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
For input processing, MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.15/1M tokens) is 1.5x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).
For output processing, MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.60/1M tokens) is 6.0x more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).
In conclusion, MiniMax M3.1 Flash is more expensive than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
MiniMax M3.1 Flash accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Phi-3.5-mini-instruct's 128,000 tokens. MiniMax M3.1 Flash can generate longer responses up to 524,288 tokens, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas Phi-3.5-mini-instruct does not.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
License
Usage and distribution terms
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
MiniMax M3.1 Flash was released on 2026-10-19, while Phi-3.5-mini-instruct was released on 2024-08-23.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 26 months newer than Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.
Oct 19, 2026
0 days ago
2.2yr newerAug 23, 2024
2.2 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is available from MiniMax. Phi-3.5-mini-instruct is available from Azure.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Phi-3.5-mini-instruct
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Phi-3.5-mini-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Phi-3.5-mini-instruct.