Pick Gemma 4 for self-hosted, data-private deployment or running locally or on edge devices. Pick MiniMax M3 for open-weight 428b moe (~23b active per token) with a 1m-token context or native multimodal input — text, image and video. On a tight budget at scale, Gemma 4 is the value pick.
Gemma 4 (Google, US) and MiniMax M3 (MiniMax, China) line up two different AI ecosystems against each other — a comparison that is as much about cost philosophy and openness as raw capability. Gemma 4 is google's open-weight family: Apache 2.0 licensed, multimodal, and sized from edge devices up, for private self-hosting. MiniMax M3 is miniMax's open-weight 428B multimodal model with a 1M context — strong reported coding (59.0 SWE-Bench Pro) at low entry pricing. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences
Context window: MiniMax M3 holds 4.1× more — 1M (~1,573 pages) vs 256K (~384 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
Recency: MiniMax M3 is the newer model by about 2 months (released June 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Ecosystem: this is a US-vs-China matchup — they differ in pricing philosophy, data-residency options, and tooling ecosystems, not only benchmarks.
Specifications
Spec
Gemma 4
MiniMax M3
Provider
Google (US)
MiniMax (China)
Released
April 2, 2026
June 2026
Context window
256K (~384 pages)
1M (~1,573 pages)
Price (in/out)
Open weight (self-host / free)
$0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
Yes — self-hostable
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image, video, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Self-hosted, data-private deployment: Gemma 4 — Gemma 4 lists self-hosted, data-private deployment among its strengths; MiniMax M3 does not.
Running locally or on edge devices: Gemma 4 — Gemma 4 lists running locally or on edge devices among its strengths; MiniMax M3 does not.
Fine-tuning on your own data: Gemma 4 — Gemma 4 lists fine-tuning on your own data among its strengths; MiniMax M3 does not.
Open-weight 428B MoE (~23B active per token) with a 1M-token context: MiniMax M3 — Its 1M window holds about 4.1× more than Gemma 4's 256K in a single prompt.
Native multimodal input — text, image and video: MiniMax M3 — MiniMax's open-weight 428B multimodal model with a 1M context — strong reported coding (59.0 SWE-Bench Pro) at low entry pricing — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Reports 59.0 on SWE-Bench Pro (a strong open-weight score), surpassing GPT-5.5: MiniMax M3 — MiniMax's open-weight 428B multimodal model with a 1M context — strong reported coding (59.0 SWE-Bench Pro) at low entry pricing — and it is the newer of the two.
Lowest cost at scale: Gemma 4 — Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of MiniMax M3's $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input: MiniMax M3 — Its 1M window is about 4.1× larger than Gemma 4's 256K, fitting roughly 1,573 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: Gemma 4 — At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts MiniMax M3, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases: MiniMax M3 — Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is self-hosted, data-private deployment: Gemma 4 — It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is open-weight 428b moe (~23b active per token) with a 1m-token context: MiniMax M3 — That is its strongest area.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules: Gemma 4 or MiniMax M3 — Origin (US vs China) affects where data is processed and which compliance regime applies — check the provider's terms for your region.
Gemma 4: where it fits
Google's open-weight family: Apache 2.0 licensed, multimodal, and sized from edge devices up, for private self-hosting. Released April 2, 2026 by Google, it is built for self-hosted, data-private deployment, running locally or on edge devices, fine-tuning on your own data, and multimodal tasks over a 256K context.
Its trade-offs are real: trails frontier closed models on the hardest tasks, and needs your own hardware to run. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
MiniMax M3: where it fits
MiniMax's open-weight 428B multimodal model with a 1M context — strong reported coding (59.0 SWE-Bench Pro) at low entry pricing. Released June 2026 by MiniMax, it is built for open-weight 428B MoE (~23B active per token) with a 1M-token context, native multimodal input — text, image and video, reports 59.0 on SWE-Bench Pro (a strong open-weight score), surpassing GPT-5.5, and low entry pricing at $0.30/$1.20 per million up to 512K tokens.
Its trade-offs: price doubles to $0.60/$2.40 above 512K tokens — not flat across 1M, miniMax's own reported 80.5 SWE-Bench Verified figure is vendor-stated, not independently verified, sWE-Bench Pro is a different, harder benchmark than SWE-Bench Verified, and newer than M2.7 but with less independent testing so far. At $0.3 in / $1.2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
This is less "which is smarter" and more "which ecosystem fits." Gemma 4 (US) and MiniMax M3 (China) differ on pricing philosophy, data-residency, and tooling as much as on raw scores. Gemma 4 is the cheaper option, which matters at volume. The pragmatic move is to run one real task through both and judge the outputs against your own constraints — including where your data is allowed to be processed.
Frequently asked questions
Is Gemma 4 or MiniMax M3 better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Gemma 4 leans toward self-hosted, data-private deployment while MiniMax M3 leans toward open-weight 428b moe (~23b active per token) with a 1m-token context, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 4 or MiniMax M3?
Gemma 4 is cheaper — Open weight (self-host / free) vs $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens.
Which has the bigger context window?
MiniMax M3 — 1M vs 256K, about 4.1× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Gemma 4 and MiniMax M3 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Gemma 4, MiniMax M3 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Gemma 4 or MiniMax M3?
MiniMax M3 — released June 2026, about 2 months after Gemma 4.
Gemma 4 vs MiniMax M3
Google · US | MiniMax · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Gemma 4 for self-hosted, data-private deployment or running locally or on edge devices. Pick MiniMax M3 for open-weight 428b moe (~23b active per token) with a 1m-token context or native multimodal input — text, image and video. On a tight budget at scale, Gemma 4 is the value pick.
Gemma 4 (Google, US) and MiniMax M3 (MiniMax, China) line up two different AI ecosystems against each other — a comparison that is as much about cost philosophy and openness as raw capability. Gemma 4 is google's open-weight family: Apache 2.0 licensed, multimodal, and sized from edge devices up, for private self-hosting. MiniMax M3 is miniMax's open-weight 428B multimodal model with a 1M context — strong reported coding (59.0 SWE-Bench Pro) at low entry pricing. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
▸Context window: MiniMax M3 holds 4.1× more — 1M (~1,573 pages) vs 256K (~384 pages). But effective recall usually fades long before the advertised ceiling, so the bigger number only helps if the model reasons over it.
▸Recency: MiniMax M3 is the newer model by about 2 months (released June 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
▸Ecosystem: this is a US-vs-China matchup — they differ in pricing philosophy, data-residency options, and tooling ecosystems, not only benchmarks.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
Gemma 4
MiniMax M3
Provider
Google (US)
MiniMax (China)
Released
April 2, 2026
June 2026
Context window
256K (~384 pages)
1M (~1,573 pages)
Price (in/out)
Open weight (self-host / free)
$0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
Yes — self-hostable
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, image, code
text, image, video, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Self-hosted, data-private deployment
Gemma 4
Gemma 4 lists self-hosted, data-private deployment among its strengths; MiniMax M3 does not.
Running locally or on edge devices
Gemma 4
Gemma 4 lists running locally or on edge devices among its strengths; MiniMax M3 does not.
Fine-tuning on your own data
Gemma 4
Gemma 4 lists fine-tuning on your own data among its strengths; MiniMax M3 does not.
Open-weight 428B MoE (~23B active per token) with a 1M-token context
MiniMax M3
Its 1M window holds about 4.1× more than Gemma 4's 256K in a single prompt.
Native multimodal input — text, image and video
MiniMax M3
MiniMax's open-weight 428B multimodal model with a 1M context — strong reported coding (59.0 SWE-Bench Pro) at low entry pricing — and it carries the larger 1M context.
Reports 59.0 on SWE-Bench Pro (a strong open-weight score), surpassing GPT-5.5
MiniMax M3
MiniMax's open-weight 428B multimodal model with a 1M context — strong reported coding (59.0 SWE-Bench Pro) at low entry pricing — and it is the newer of the two.
Lowest cost at scale
Gemma 4
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of MiniMax M3's $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens.
Largest single-prompt input
MiniMax M3
Its 1M window is about 4.1× larger than Gemma 4's 256K, fitting roughly 1,573 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Gemma 4
At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts MiniMax M3, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ MiniMax M3
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is self-hosted, data-private deployment
→ Gemma 4
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is open-weight 428b moe (~23b active per token) with a 1m-token context
→ MiniMax M3
That is its strongest area.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules
→ Gemma 4 or MiniMax M3
Origin (US vs China) affects where data is processed and which compliance regime applies — check the provider's terms for your region.
Gemma 4: where it fits
Google's open-weight family: Apache 2.0 licensed, multimodal, and sized from edge devices up, for private self-hosting. Released April 2, 2026 by Google, it is built for self-hosted, data-private deployment, running locally or on edge devices, fine-tuning on your own data, and multimodal tasks over a 256K context.
Its trade-offs are real: trails frontier closed models on the hardest tasks, and needs your own hardware to run. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
MiniMax M3: where it fits
MiniMax's open-weight 428B multimodal model with a 1M context — strong reported coding (59.0 SWE-Bench Pro) at low entry pricing. Released June 2026 by MiniMax, it is built for open-weight 428B MoE (~23B active per token) with a 1M-token context, native multimodal input — text, image and video, reports 59.0 on SWE-Bench Pro (a strong open-weight score), surpassing GPT-5.5, and low entry pricing at $0.30/$1.20 per million up to 512K tokens.
Its trade-offs: price doubles to $0.60/$2.40 above 512K tokens — not flat across 1M, miniMax's own reported 80.5 SWE-Bench Verified figure is vendor-stated, not independently verified, sWE-Bench Pro is a different, harder benchmark than SWE-Bench Verified, and newer than M2.7 but with less independent testing so far. At $0.3 in / $1.2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
This is less "which is smarter" and more "which ecosystem fits." Gemma 4 (US) and MiniMax M3 (China) differ on pricing philosophy, data-residency, and tooling as much as on raw scores. Gemma 4 is the cheaper option, which matters at volume. The pragmatic move is to run one real task through both and judge the outputs against your own constraints — including where your data is allowed to be processed.
Want both Gemma 4 and MiniMax M3 without two subscriptions? LumiChats gives you these plus 40+ models under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day) — draft with one, cross-check with the other.
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for either model, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, Gemma 4 leans toward self-hosted, data-private deployment while MiniMax M3 leans toward open-weight 428b moe (~23b active per token) with a 1m-token context, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Gemma 4 or MiniMax M3?
Gemma 4 is cheaper — Open weight (self-host / free) vs $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens.
Which has the bigger context window?
MiniMax M3 — 1M vs 256K, about 4.1× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both Gemma 4 and MiniMax M3 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Gemma 4, MiniMax M3 and 40+ others under one ₹69/day pass (about $1/day), so you can draft with one and cross-check with the other instead of buying two subscriptions.
Which is newer, Gemma 4 or MiniMax M3?
MiniMax M3 — released June 2026, about 2 months after Gemma 4.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.