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MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Step-3.5-Flash

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 48.5 to 37.0. Step-3.5-Flash is 1.5x cheaper per token.

MiniMax · StepFun · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the overall LLM Stats Score 48.5 to 37.0, ranking #29 overall.

On price, Step-3.5-Flash is roughly 1.5x 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 Step-3.5-Flash

  • cost matters — it's about 1.5x 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
Step-3.5-Flash
StepFun
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
48.5
#29
37.0
#86
Reasoning
45.8
#34
37.0
#86
Coding
37.8
#23
20.5
#113
Agents
35.6
#23
15.4
#106
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$0.15 / M
$0.10 / M
Output price
$0.60 / M
$0.40 / M
Context window
1,000,000
65,536

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

1 shared
Index
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Step-3.5-Flash
Tool use
26.8#30
13.3#115
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

14 reported for MiniMax M3.1 Flash · 7 for Step-3.5-Flash

No common benchmarks found

MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Step-3.5-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

Step-3.5-Flash costs less

For input processing, MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.15/1M tokens) is 1.5x more expensive than Step-3.5-Flash ($0.10/1M tokens).

For output processing, MiniMax M3.1 Flash ($0.60/1M tokens) is 1.5x more expensive than Step-3.5-Flash ($0.40/1M tokens).

In conclusion, MiniMax M3.1 Flash is more expensive than Step-3.5-Flash.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Mon Oct 19 2026 • llm-stats.com
MiniMax
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Input tokens$0.15
Output tokens$0.60
Best providerMiniMax
StepFun
Step-3.5-Flash
Input tokens$0.10
Output tokens$0.40
Best providerStepFun
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 Step-3.5-Flash's 65,536 tokens. MiniMax M3.1 Flash can generate longer responses up to 524,288 tokens, while Step-3.5-Flash is limited to 8,192 tokens.

MiniMax
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output524,288 tokens
StepFun
Step-3.5-Flash
Input65,536 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Mon Oct 19 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports multimodal inputs, whereas Step-3.5-Flash 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

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Step-3.5-Flash

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is licensed under a proprietary license, while Step-3.5-Flash uses Apache 2.0.

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

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Proprietary

Closed source

Step-3.5-Flash

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

MiniMax M3.1 Flash was released on 2026-10-19, while Step-3.5-Flash was released on 2026-02-02.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 9 months newer than Step-3.5-Flash.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Oct 19, 2026

0 days ago

8mo newer
Step-3.5-Flash

Feb 2, 2026

8 months ago

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 M3.1 Flash is available from MiniMax. Step-3.5-Flash is available from StepFun.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

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

Step-3.5-Flash

stepfun logo
StepFun
Input Price:Input: $0.10/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.40/1M
* 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 Step-3.5-Flash side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash
✓ Preferred
Step-3.5-Flash
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Step-3.5-Flash.

Which is better, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or Step-3.5-Flash?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads the LLM Stats Score 48.5 to 37.0. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is made by MiniMax and Step-3.5-Flash is made by StepFun. 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 Step-3.5-Flash 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%. Step-3.5-Flash scores AIME 2025: 97.3%, Tau-bench: 88.2%, LiveCodeBench v6: 86.4%, IMO-AnswerBench: 85.4%, SWE-Bench Verified: 74.4%.

Is MiniMax M3.1 Flash cheaper than Step-3.5-Flash?

Step-3.5-Flash is 1.5x cheaper for input tokens. MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.15/M input and $0.60/M output via minimax. Step-3.5-Flash costs $0.10/M input and $0.40/M output via stepfun.

What are the context window sizes for MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports 1.0M tokens and Step-3.5-Flash supports 66K 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 Step-3.5-Flash?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (48.5 vs 37.0), context window (1.0M vs 66K), input pricing ($0.15 vs $0.10/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Step-3.5-Flash?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is developed by MiniMax and Step-3.5-Flash is developed by StepFun.

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