Gemini 3.5 Flash vs MiniMax M3
Gemini 3.5 Flash (2026) and MiniMax M3 (2026) are frontier-tier reasoning models from Google DeepMind and MiniMax. Gemini 3.5 Flash ships a 1.05m-token context window, while MiniMax M3 ships a 1m-token context window. On SWE-bench Verified, MiniMax M3 leads by 2.5 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
MiniMax M3 is safer overall; choose Gemini 3.5 Flash when coding workflow support matters.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | Gemini 3.5 Flash | MiniMax M3 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | Coding, RAG, and Agents | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 1.05m | 1m |
| Cheapest output | $9/1M tokens | $1.20/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 4 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 7 shared | SWE-bench Verified leader |
Decision tradeoffs
- Gemini 3.5 Flash holds a shared-benchmark lead on Terminal-Bench 2.0, ahead by 10.2 points.
- Gemini 3.5 Flash has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- Gemini 3.5 Flash has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags Gemini 3.5 Flash for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
- MiniMax M3 holds a shared-benchmark lead on SWE-bench Verified, ahead by 2.5 points.
- MiniMax M3 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $1.20/1M tokens.
- Local decision data tags MiniMax M3 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Monthly cost at traffic
Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.
Gemini 3.5 Flash
$3,450
Cheapest tracked route/tier: Google AI Studio
MiniMax M3
$540
Cheapest tracked route/tier: MiniMax <=512K input tokens (standard)
Estimated monthly gap: $2,910. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.
Switch friction
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- MiniMax M3 is $7.80/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- Gemini 3.5 Flash is $7.80/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2026-05-19 | 2026-06-01 |
| Context window | 1.05m | 1m |
| Parameters | — | — |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | Proprietary | MiniMax Community License |
| Openness | Proprietary | Open weights |
| Weights | Not released | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Available·MITOSI-approved |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: conditional | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | 2025-01 | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | Gemini 3.5 Flash | MiniMax M3 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $1.50/1M tokens |
|
| Output price | $9/1M tokens |
|
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | Gemini 3.5 Flash | MiniMax M3 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Yes | Yes |
| Multimodal | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | Yes | Yes |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Gemini 3.5 Flash | MiniMax M3 |
|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench Verified | 78.0 | 80.5 |
| SWE-bench Pro | 55.1 | 59.0 |
| Google-Proof Q&A | 92.2 | 92.9 |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0 | 76.2 | 66.0 |
| MMMU Pro | 88.3 | 78.1 |
| MCP-Atlas | 83.6 | 74.2 |
| GeneBench-Pro | 8.1 | 0.9 |
Continue comparing
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-30. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.