Pick GLM 5.2 for long-horizon agentic coding or project-level software engineering. 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, MiniMax M3 is the value pick.
GLM 5.2 (Z.ai) and MiniMax M3 (MiniMax) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. GLM 5.2 is an open-weight reasoning model built for long-horizon coding and multi-step agent workflows — strong and cheap. 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
Price: MiniMax M3 is about 4.7× cheaper on input ($0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens vs $1.4/$4.4 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
Context window: 1M vs 1M — within a few percent of each other, so treat this as a tie and test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
Specifications
Spec
GLM 5.2
MiniMax M3
Provider
Z.ai (China)
MiniMax (China)
Released
June 13, 2026
June 2026
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
1M (~1,573 pages)
Price (in/out)
$1.4/$4.4 per 1M tokens
$0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
Yes — self-hostable
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, code
text, image, video, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Long-horizon agentic coding: GLM 5.2 — An open-weight reasoning model built for long-horizon coding and multi-step agent workflows — strong and cheap — and it is the newer of the two.
Project-level software engineering: GLM 5.2 — GLM 5.2 lists project-level software engineering among its strengths; MiniMax M3 does not.
Tool use across long-running tasks: GLM 5.2 — MiniMax M3 is comparatively weak here — price doubles to $0.60/$2.40 above 512K tokens — not flat across 1M
Open-weight 428B MoE (~23B active per token) with a 1M-token context: 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 runs cheaper at $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens.
Native multimodal input — text, image and video: MiniMax M3 — GLM 5.2 is comparatively weak here — text-only — no native multimodal input
Reports 59.0 on SWE-Bench Pro (a strong open-weight score), surpassing GPT-5.5: MiniMax M3 — MiniMax M3 lists reports 59.0 on SWE-Bench Pro (a strong open-weight score), surpassing GPT-5.5 among its strengths; GLM 5.2 does not.
Lowest cost at scale: MiniMax M3 — At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume: MiniMax M3 — At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens it undercuts GLM 5.2, 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 long-horizon agentic coding: GLM 5.2 — 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.
GLM 5.2: where it fits
An open-weight reasoning model built for long-horizon coding and multi-step agent workflows — strong and cheap. Released June 13, 2026 by Z.ai, it is built for long-horizon agentic coding, project-level software engineering, tool use across long-running tasks, and tops the open-weight intelligence index (SWE-bench Pro 62.1).
Its trade-offs are real: text-only — no native multimodal input, and new release with a limited third-party track record. At $1.4 in / $4.4 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
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
GLM 5.2 and MiniMax M3 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MiniMax M3 costs less per token; MiniMax M3 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — GLM 5.2 for long-horizon agentic coding, MiniMax M3 for open-weight 428b moe (~23b active per token) with a 1m-token context. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Frequently asked questions
Is GLM 5.2 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, GLM 5.2 leans toward long-horizon agentic coding 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, GLM 5.2 or MiniMax M3?
MiniMax M3 is cheaper — $1.4/$4.4 per 1M tokens vs $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens, roughly 4.7× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 1M vs 1M is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both GLM 5.2 and MiniMax M3 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GLM 5.2, 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, GLM 5.2 or MiniMax M3?
GLM 5.2 — released June 13, 2026, about 12 days after MiniMax M3.
GLM 5.2 vs MiniMax M3
Z.ai · China | MiniMax · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick GLM 5.2 for long-horizon agentic coding or project-level software engineering. 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, MiniMax M3 is the value pick.
GLM 5.2 (Z.ai) and MiniMax M3 (MiniMax) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. GLM 5.2 is an open-weight reasoning model built for long-horizon coding and multi-step agent workflows — strong and cheap. 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
▸Price: MiniMax M3 is about 4.7× cheaper on input ($0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens vs $1.4/$4.4 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
▸Context window: 1M vs 1M — within a few percent of each other, so treat this as a tie and test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
Side-by-side specs
Spec
GLM 5.2
MiniMax M3
Provider
Z.ai (China)
MiniMax (China)
Released
June 13, 2026
June 2026
Context window
1M (~1,500 pages)
1M (~1,573 pages)
Price (in/out)
$1.4/$4.4 per 1M tokens
$0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens
Open weight?
Yes — self-hostable
Yes — self-hostable
Modalities
text, code
text, image, video, code
SWE-Bench Verified
Not published
Not published
MRCR v2 @ 1M
Not published
Not published
Who wins what
Long-horizon agentic coding
GLM 5.2
An open-weight reasoning model built for long-horizon coding and multi-step agent workflows — strong and cheap — and it is the newer of the two.
Project-level software engineering
GLM 5.2
GLM 5.2 lists project-level software engineering among its strengths; MiniMax M3 does not.
Tool use across long-running tasks
GLM 5.2
MiniMax M3 is comparatively weak here — price doubles to $0.60/$2.40 above 512K tokens — not flat across 1M
Open-weight 428B MoE (~23B active per token) with a 1M-token context
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 runs cheaper at $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens.
Native multimodal input — text, image and video
MiniMax M3
GLM 5.2 is comparatively weak here — text-only — no native multimodal input
Reports 59.0 on SWE-Bench Pro (a strong open-weight score), surpassing GPT-5.5
MiniMax M3
MiniMax M3 lists reports 59.0 on SWE-Bench Pro (a strong open-weight score), surpassing GPT-5.5 among its strengths; GLM 5.2 does not.
Lowest cost at scale
MiniMax M3
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ MiniMax M3
At $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens it undercuts GLM 5.2, 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 long-horizon agentic coding
→ GLM 5.2
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.
GLM 5.2: where it fits
An open-weight reasoning model built for long-horizon coding and multi-step agent workflows — strong and cheap. Released June 13, 2026 by Z.ai, it is built for long-horizon agentic coding, project-level software engineering, tool use across long-running tasks, and tops the open-weight intelligence index (SWE-bench Pro 62.1).
Its trade-offs are real: text-only — no native multimodal input, and new release with a limited third-party track record. At $1.4 in / $4.4 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid price band.
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
GLM 5.2 and MiniMax M3 overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MiniMax M3 costs less per token; MiniMax M3 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — GLM 5.2 for long-horizon agentic coding, MiniMax M3 for open-weight 428b moe (~23b active per token) with a 1m-token context. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both GLM 5.2 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, GLM 5.2 leans toward long-horizon agentic coding 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, GLM 5.2 or MiniMax M3?
MiniMax M3 is cheaper — $1.4/$4.4 per 1M tokens vs $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens, roughly 4.7× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 1M vs 1M is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both GLM 5.2 and MiniMax M3 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GLM 5.2, 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, GLM 5.2 or MiniMax M3?
GLM 5.2 — released June 13, 2026, about 12 days after MiniMax M3.
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.