Kimi K3 vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Moonshot AI · China | MiniMax · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Kimi K3 for largest open-weight model at release — 2.8t sparse moe, self-hostable or 1m-token context with native vision (text, image and video). 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.
Kimi K3 (Moonshot AI) and MiniMax M3.1 Flash (MiniMax) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. Kimi K3 is moonshot's 2.8-trillion-parameter open-weight model — the largest open AI at release, with a 1M context and strong self-reported coding scores. 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 20× cheaper on input ($0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs $3/$15 per 1M tokens) — a large enough gap that at scale it can be the single biggest line item in the decision.
- ▸Context window: 1M vs 1M tokens — 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.
- ▸Recency: MiniMax M3.1 Flash is the newer model by about 3 months (released October 19, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Kimi K3 | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Moonshot AI (China) | MiniMax (China) |
| Released | July 27, 2026 | October 19, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M (~1,573 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $3/$15 per 1M tokens | $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens |
| Open weight? | Yes — self-hostable | Yes — self-hostable |
| Modalities | text, image, video, code | text, image, video, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Largest open-weight model at release — 2.8T sparse MoE, self-hostable
Kimi K3
Kimi K3 lists largest open-weight model at release — 2.8T sparse MoE, self-hostable among its strengths; MiniMax M3.1 Flash does not.
1M-token context with native vision (text, image and video)
Kimi K3
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is comparatively weak here — thinking is always on and default effort is max, which inflates output-token cost
Vendor reports 81.2 FrontierSWE and 88.3 Terminal-Bench 2.1 on its own harness
Kimi K3
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is comparatively weak here — benchmarks are mostly self-reported; no SWE-bench Verified figure published
$0.15/$0.60 per million tokens (cached $0.015) with flat pricing regardless of prompt length
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.
428B-parameter MoE (about 23B active) with weights on Hugging Face from October 23, 2026
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Kimi K3 is comparatively weak here — 2.8T params need serious hardware to self-host — weights are free, running is not
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 is the newer of the two.
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.
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 Kimi K3, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Kimi K3
Larger 1M window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is largest open-weight model at release — 2.8t sparse moe, self-hostable
→ Kimi K3
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.
Kimi K3: where it fits
Moonshot's 2.8-trillion-parameter open-weight model — the largest open AI at release, with a 1M context and strong self-reported coding scores. Released July 27, 2026 by Moonshot AI, it is built for largest open-weight model at release — 2.8T sparse MoE, self-hostable, 1M-token context with native vision (text, image and video), vendor reports 81.2 FrontierSWE and 88.3 Terminal-Bench 2.1 on its own harness, and fresh-input pricing of $3/M (cached $0.30/M), flat across the full 1M context.
Its trade-offs are real: coding scores use Moonshot FrontierSWE, not standard SWE-Bench Verified, 2.8T params need serious hardware to self-host — weights are free, running is not, no independent benchmark reproduction yet at release, and image input but no audio or video. At $3 in / $15 out per million tokens, it sits in the mid 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
Kimi K3 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs less per token; Kimi K3 holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — Kimi K3 for largest open-weight model at release — 2.8t sparse moe, self-hostable, 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 Kimi K3 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 Kimi K3 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash 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, Kimi K3 leans toward largest open-weight model at release — 2.8t sparse moe, self-hostable 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, Kimi K3 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is cheaper — $3/$15 per 1M tokens vs $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens, roughly 20× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 1M vs 1M tokens is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Kimi K3 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Kimi K3, 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, Kimi K3 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash — released October 19, 2026, about 3 months after Kimi K3.
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.