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MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 48.5 to 2.5. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 4.2x cheaper per token.

MiniMax · Microsoft · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 48.5 to 2.5, ranking #29 overall.

On price, Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is roughly 4.2x 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 — 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-4-multimodal-instruct

  • cost matters — it's about 4.2x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Microsoft
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
48.5
#29
2.5
#336
Reasoning
45.8
#34
-0.5
#344
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$0.15 / M
$0.05 / M
Output price
$0.60 / M
$0.10 / M
Context window
1,000,000
128,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

2 shared
Index
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Vision
28.8#42
1.5#191
Multimodal
30.2#38
3.5#160
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

14 reported for MiniMax M3.1 Flash · 15 for Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

No common benchmarks found

MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-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

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs less

For input processing, MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.15/1M tokens) is 3.0x more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.05/1M tokens).

For output processing, MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.60/1M tokens) is 6.0x more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct ($0.10/1M tokens).

In conclusion, MiniMax M3.1 Flash is more expensive than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Oct 20 2026 • llm-stats.com
MiniMax
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerMiniMax
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Input tokens$0.05
Output tokens$0.10
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

MiniMax M3.1 Flash accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Phi-4-multimodal-instruct's 128,000 tokens. MiniMax M3.1 Flash can generate longer responses up to 524,288 tokens, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is limited to 128,000 tokens.

MiniMax
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output524,288 tokens
Microsoft
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Tue Oct 20 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Both MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is licensed under a proprietary license, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct uses MIT.

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

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

MiniMax M3.1 Flash was released on 2026-10-19, while Phi-4-multimodal-instruct was released on 2025-02-01.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 21 months newer than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Oct 19, 2026

1 days ago

1.7yr newer
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Feb 1, 2025

1.7 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while MiniMax M3.1 Flash's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Phi-4-multimodal-instruct's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without MiniMax M3.1 Flash's cutoff date.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

—

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

Jun 2024

Provider Availability

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is available from MiniMax. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is available from DeepInfra.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

minimax logo
MiniMax
Input Price:Input: $0.15/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.60/1M

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.05/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.10/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash
✓ Preferred
Phi-4-multimodal-instruct
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Phi-4-multimodal-instruct.

Which is better, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 48.5 to 2.5. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is made by MiniMax and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is made by Microsoft. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does MiniMax M3.1 Flash compare to Phi-4-multimodal-instruct in benchmarks?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores BabyVision: 91.0%, CharXiv-R: 82.5%, CyberGym: 82.2%, BankerToolBench: 76.2%, DeepSWE 1.1: 73.7%. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct scores ScienceQA Visual: 97.5%, DocVQA: 93.2%, MMBench: 86.7%, POPE: 85.6%, OCRBench: 84.4%.

Is MiniMax M3.1 Flash cheaper than Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is 3.0x cheaper for input tokens. MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.15/M input and $0.60/M output via minimax. Phi-4-multimodal-instruct costs $0.05/M input and $0.10/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (48.5 vs 2.5), context window (1.0M vs 128K), input pricing ($0.15 vs $0.05/M), licensing (Proprietary vs MIT). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is developed by MiniMax and Phi-4-multimodal-instruct is developed by Microsoft.

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