GLM 5 vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Z.ai · China | MiniMax · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick GLM 5 for agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows or complex systems design and backend reasoning. Pick MiniMax M3.1 Flash for $0.15/$0.60 per million tokens (cached $0.015) with flat pricing regardless of prompt length or 428b-parameter moe (about 23b active) with weights on hugging face from october 23, 2026. On a tight budget at scale, MiniMax M3.1 Flash is the value pick.
GLM 5 (Z.ai) and MiniMax M3.1 Flash (MiniMax) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. GLM 5 is z.ai's flagship open-weight (MIT) MoE foundation model, engineered for complex systems design and long-horizon agentic coding. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is miniMax's October 19, 2026 always-thinking agentic Flash model - 1M context, text/image/video input, $0.15/$0.60 and open weights under a community license. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: MiniMax M3.1 Flash is about 6.7× cheaper on input ($0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs $1/$3.2 per 1M tokens) — a large enough gap that at scale it can be the single biggest line item in the decision.
- ▸Context window: MiniMax M3.1 Flash holds 5× more — 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) vs 200K (~300 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 M3.1 Flash is the newer model by about 8 months (released October 19, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | GLM 5 | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Z.ai (China) | MiniMax (China) |
| Released | February 12, 2026 | October 19, 2026 |
| Context window | 200K (~300 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $1/$3.2 per 1M tokens | $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | Yes — self-hostable | Yes — self-hostable |
| Modalities | text, code | text, image, video, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | 77.8% | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows
GLM 5
GLM 5 lists agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows among its strengths; MiniMax M3.1 Flash does not.
Complex systems design and backend reasoning
GLM 5
GLM 5 lists complex systems design and backend reasoning among its strengths; MiniMax M3.1 Flash does not.
Iterative self-correction on autonomous tasks
GLM 5
GLM 5 lists iterative self-correction on autonomous tasks among its strengths; MiniMax M3.1 Flash does not.
$0.15/$0.60 per million tokens (cached $0.015) with flat pricing regardless of prompt length
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Its 1M tokens window holds about 5× more than GLM 5's 200K in a single prompt.
428B-parameter MoE (about 23B active) with weights on Hugging Face from October 23, 2026
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax's October 19, 2026 always-thinking agentic Flash model - 1M context, text/image/video input, $0.15/$0.60 and open weights under a community license — and it runs cheaper at $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens.
DeepSWE v1.1 of 73.7% and OSWorld V2 of 61.7 (MiniMax-reported)
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax's October 19, 2026 always-thinking agentic Flash model - 1M context, text/image/video input, $0.15/$0.60 and open weights under a community license — and it carries the larger 1M tokens context.
Lowest cost at scale
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
At $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens, it is the cheaper of the two — the gap dominates the bill on high-volume workloads.
Largest single-prompt input
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Its 1M tokens window is about 5× larger than GLM 5's 200K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ MiniMax M3.1 Flash
At $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens it undercuts GLM 5, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Larger 1M tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows
→ GLM 5
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is $0.15/$0.60 per million tokens (cached $0.015) with flat pricing regardless of prompt length
→ MiniMax M3.1 Flash
That is its strongest area.
GLM 5: where it fits
Z.ai's flagship open-weight (MIT) MoE foundation model, engineered for complex systems design and long-horizon agentic coding. Released February 12, 2026 by Z.ai, it is built for agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows, complex systems design and backend reasoning, iterative self-correction on autonomous tasks, and open weights under the permissive MIT license.
Its trade-offs are real: 200K context trails 1M-context rivals, and quickly superseded by GLM-5.1 and GLM-5.2. At $1 in / $3.2 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash: where it fits
MiniMax's October 19, 2026 always-thinking agentic Flash model - 1M context, text/image/video input, $0.15/$0.60 and open weights under a community license. Released October 19, 2026 by MiniMax, it is built for $0.15/$0.60 per million tokens (cached $0.015) with flat pricing regardless of prompt length, 428B-parameter MoE (about 23B active) with weights on Hugging Face from October 23, 2026, deepSWE v1.1 of 73.7% and OSWorld V2 of 61.7 (MiniMax-reported), and artificial Analysis Intelligence Index of 42, 13 points above MiniMax M3.
Its trade-offs: thinking is always on and default effort is max, which inflates output-token cost, behind DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 on Artificial Analysis's independent index, custom MiniMax Community license: attribution required, and products above $20M annual revenue need written authorization, and benchmarks are mostly self-reported; no SWE-bench Verified figure published. At $0.15 in / $0.6 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
The bottom line for this matchup
GLM 5 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs less per token; MiniMax M3.1 Flash holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — GLM 5 for agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows, MiniMax M3.1 Flash for $0.15/$0.60 per million tokens (cached $0.015) with flat pricing regardless of prompt length. Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both GLM 5 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash 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.
See pricingFrequently asked questions
Is GLM 5 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash better for coding?
Public SWE-Bench figures are not available for MiniMax M3.1 Flash, so the honest test is your own repository — run an identical real bug through both. By design, GLM 5 leans toward agentic planning and long-horizon coding workflows while MiniMax M3.1 Flash leans toward $0.15/$0.60 per million tokens (cached $0.015) with flat pricing regardless of prompt length, and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, GLM 5 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is cheaper — $1/$3.2 per 1M tokens vs $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens, roughly 6.7× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash — 1M tokens vs 200K, about 5× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both GLM 5 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you GLM 5, MiniMax M3.1 Flash 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 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash — released October 19, 2026, about 8 months after GLM 5.
Related comparisons
Specifications and benchmarks reflect publicly reported figures as of June 2026 and may change as providers release updates. Always verify on your own workload.