Ling 3.1 Flash vs MAI-Thinking-1
InclusionAI (Ant Group) · China | Microsoft · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Pick Ling 3.1 Flash for hybrid-reasoning moe — 560b total parameters, ~25b active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work or artificial analysis intelligence index score of 41 — above average for its price tier. Pick MAI-Thinking-1 for very strong math reasoning (aime 2025 97%, aime 2026 94.5%) or microsoft's first in-house flagship reasoner, trained without openai distillation. On a tight budget at scale, MAI-Thinking-1 is the value pick.
Ling 3.1 Flash (InclusionAI (Ant Group), China) and MAI-Thinking-1 (Microsoft, US) line up two different AI ecosystems against each other — a comparison that is as much about cost philosophy and openness as raw capability. Ling 3.1 Flash is inclusionAI's (Ant Group) September 30, 2026 hybrid-reasoning MoE model — 560B parameters aimed at agents and long documents, launched as a free trial with weights still unreleased. MAI-Thinking-1 is microsoft's first fully in-house flagship reasoning model — a Claude-class reasoner built independently to cut its OpenAI dependence. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Context window: 262K tokens vs 256K — 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: Ling 3.1 Flash is the newer model by about 49 days (released September 30, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
- ▸Ecosystem: this is a China-vs-US matchup — they differ in pricing philosophy, data-residency options, and tooling ecosystems, not only benchmarks.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | Ling 3.1 Flash | MAI-Thinking-1 |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | InclusionAI (Ant Group) (China) | Microsoft (US) |
| Released | September 30, 2026 | August 12, 2026 |
| Context window | 262K tokens (~393 pages) | 256K (~384 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.3/$0.9 per 1M tokens | Not published |
| Open weight? | No — API only | No — API only |
| Modalities | text, code | text, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Hybrid-reasoning MoE — 560B total parameters, ~25B active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work
Ling 3.1 Flash
InclusionAI's (Ant Group) September 30, 2026 hybrid-reasoning MoE model — 560B parameters aimed at agents and long documents, launched as a free trial with weights still unreleased — and it is the newer of the two.
Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index score of 41 — above average for its price tier
Ling 3.1 Flash
Ling 3.1 Flash lists artificial Analysis Intelligence Index score of 41 — above average for its price tier among its strengths; MAI-Thinking-1 does not.
First-party pricing of $0.30/$0.90 per million tokens, with an 80% cache-read discount ($0.06/MTok)
Ling 3.1 Flash
MAI-Thinking-1 is comparatively weak here — closed and in private preview — no open weights, no published pricing, thin availability
Very strong math reasoning (AIME 2025 97%, AIME 2026 94.5%)
MAI-Thinking-1
MAI-Thinking-1 lists very strong math reasoning (AIME 2025 97%, AIME 2026 94.5%) among its strengths; Ling 3.1 Flash does not.
Microsoft's first in-house flagship reasoner, trained without OpenAI distillation
MAI-Thinking-1
MAI-Thinking-1 lists microsoft's first in-house flagship reasoner, trained without OpenAI distillation among its strengths; Ling 3.1 Flash does not.
Efficient reasoning at low token cost for its class
MAI-Thinking-1
Ling 3.1 Flash is comparatively weak here — context window currently served at 262K tokens even though InclusionAI's stated target is 1M — the larger window isn't live yet
Lowest cost at scale
MAI-Thinking-1
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of Ling 3.1 Flash's $0.3/$0.9 per 1M tokens.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ MAI-Thinking-1
At Not published it undercuts Ling 3.1 Flash, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
Someone analysing very long documents or codebases
→ Ling 3.1 Flash
Larger 262K tokens window fits more in one prompt.
Anyone whose priority is hybrid-reasoning moe — 560b total parameters, ~25b active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work
→ Ling 3.1 Flash
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is very strong math reasoning (aime 2025 97%, aime 2026 94.5%)
→ MAI-Thinking-1
That is its strongest area.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules
→ MAI-Thinking-1 or Ling 3.1 Flash
Origin (China vs US) affects where data is processed and which compliance regime applies — check the provider's terms for your region.
Ling 3.1 Flash: where it fits
InclusionAI's (Ant Group) September 30, 2026 hybrid-reasoning MoE model — 560B parameters aimed at agents and long documents, launched as a free trial with weights still unreleased. Released September 30, 2026 by InclusionAI (Ant Group), it is built for hybrid-reasoning MoE — 560B total parameters, ~25B active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work, artificial Analysis Intelligence Index score of 41 — above average for its price tier, first-party pricing of $0.30/$0.90 per million tokens, with an 80% cache-read discount ($0.06/MTok), and predecessor Ling 3.0 Flash shipped MIT-licensed open weights, suggesting a similar path once 3.1 clears review.
Its trade-offs are real: shipped as an announcement plus a two-week free trial rather than a full release — no weights, no model card, and limited independent verification at launch, context window currently served at 262K tokens even though InclusionAI's stated target is 1M — the larger window isn't live yet, not yet open-weight despite InclusionAI saying it plans to open-source the model 'soon', and announced via WeChat rather than a formal English-language technical report, so some specs are vendor-reported only. At $0.3 in / $0.9 out per million tokens, it sits in the budget price band.
MAI-Thinking-1: where it fits
Microsoft's first fully in-house flagship reasoning model — a Claude-class reasoner built independently to cut its OpenAI dependence. Released August 12, 2026 by Microsoft, it is built for very strong math reasoning (AIME 2025 97%, AIME 2026 94.5%), microsoft's first in-house flagship reasoner, trained without OpenAI distillation, efficient reasoning at low token cost for its class, and competitive with Claude Opus 4.6 on SWE-Bench Pro (vendor-reported).
Its trade-offs: closed and in private preview — no open weights, no published pricing, thin availability, and benchmarks are largely self-reported.
The bottom line for this matchup
This is less "which is smarter" and more "which ecosystem fits." Ling 3.1 Flash (China) and MAI-Thinking-1 (US) differ on pricing philosophy, data-residency, and tooling as much as on raw scores. MAI-Thinking-1 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 Ling 3.1 Flash and MAI-Thinking-1 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 Ling 3.1 Flash or MAI-Thinking-1 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, Ling 3.1 Flash leans toward hybrid-reasoning moe — 560b total parameters, ~25b active per token, aimed at agents, tool use, and long-document work while MAI-Thinking-1 leans toward very strong math reasoning (aime 2025 97%, aime 2026 94.5%), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, Ling 3.1 Flash or MAI-Thinking-1?
MAI-Thinking-1 is cheaper — $0.3/$0.9 per 1M tokens vs Not published.
Which has the bigger context window?
Effectively neither — 262K tokens vs 256K is a difference of a few percent. Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both Ling 3.1 Flash and MAI-Thinking-1 together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you Ling 3.1 Flash, MAI-Thinking-1 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, Ling 3.1 Flash or MAI-Thinking-1?
Ling 3.1 Flash — released September 30, 2026, about 49 days after MAI-Thinking-1.
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.