MiniMax M2 vs MiniMax M3
MiniMax M2 (2025) and MiniMax M3 (2026) are frontier reasoning models from MiniMax. MiniMax M2 ships a 197k-token context window, while MiniMax M3 ships a 1m-token context window. On pricing, MiniMax M2 costs $0.26/1M input tokens; MiniMax M3 ranges from $0.30 to $0.60/1M input tokens by tier. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.
MiniMax M3 fits 5x more tokens; pick it for long-context work and MiniMax M2 for tighter calls.
Decision scorecard
Local evidence first| Signal | MiniMax M2 | MiniMax M3 |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | provider-routed production | reasoning-heavy apps, multimodal apps, and tool-calling agents |
| Decision fit | RAG, Long context, and Classification | Coding, RAG, and Agents |
| Context window | 197k | 1m |
| Cheapest output | $1/1M tokens | $1.20/1M tokens |
| Provider routes | 5 tracked | 2 tracked |
| Shared benchmarks | 0 shared | 0 shared |
Decision tradeoffs
- MiniMax M2 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $1/1M tokens.
- MiniMax M2 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
- Local decision data tags MiniMax M2 for RAG, Long context, and Classification.
- MiniMax M3 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
- MiniMax M3 uniquely exposes Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local model data.
- 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.
MiniMax M2
$454
Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter
MiniMax M3
$540
Cheapest tracked route/tier: MiniMax <=512K input tokens (standard)
Estimated monthly gap: $86.00. 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 $0.20/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
- MiniMax M3 adds Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning in local capability data.
- Provider overlap exists on OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
- MiniMax M2 is $0.20/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
- Check replacement coverage for Vision, Multimodal, and Reasoning before moving production traffic.
Specs
| Specification | ||
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2025-10-01 | 2026-06-01 |
| Context window | 197k | 1m |
| Parameters | 230B (10B active) | — |
| Architecture | Decoder Only | Decoder Only |
| License | MITOSI-approved | MiniMax Community License |
| Openness | Open source | Open weights |
| Weights | Unknown | Available |
| Code | Unknown | Available·MITOSI-approved |
| Commercial use | Commercial use: permitted | Commercial use: conditional |
| Knowledge cutoff | - | - |
Pricing and availability
| Pricing attribute | MiniMax M2 | MiniMax M3 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.26/1M tokens |
|
| Output price | $1/1M tokens |
|
| Providers |
Capabilities
| Capability | MiniMax M2 | MiniMax M3 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | No | Yes |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| JSON / Tool use | No | Yes |
| Structured outputs | Yes | Yes |
| Code execution | No | Yes |
| IDE integration | No | No |
| Computer use | No | No |
| Parallel agents | No | No |
Benchmarks
No shared benchmark scores are currently available for this pair.
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Last reviewed: 2026-10-07. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.