MiniMax M2.7 vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax · China | MiniMax · China · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
Both are MiniMax models. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is the newer, generally stronger default; reach for MiniMax M2.7 when a specific cost or latency profile matters more than the latest capabilities.
MiniMax M2.7 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash are both MiniMax models, so the real question is not which lab to trust but which tier fits your workload and budget. MiniMax M2.7 is a cheap open-weight agentic coder with near-frontier terminal scores — held back by a non-commercial licence and non-standard benchmarks. 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. Since both come from the same lab, the comparison below focuses on the tier-and-cost trade-offs that actually separate them.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Price: MiniMax M3.1 Flash is about 2× cheaper on input ($0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens) — meaningful once you are processing millions of tokens a month.
- ▸Context window: MiniMax M3.1 Flash holds 4.9× more — 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) vs 205K (~307 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 7 months (released October 19, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | MiniMax M2.7 | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | MiniMax (China) | MiniMax (China) |
| Released | March 18, 2026 | October 19, 2026 |
| Context window | 205K (~307 pages) | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.3/$1.2 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 | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
Agentic and terminal coding well above its price tier (57.0 on Terminal-Bench 2, vendor-reported)
MiniMax M2.7
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is comparatively weak here — custom MiniMax Community license: attribution required, and products above $20M annual revenue need written authorization
Independently ranked 14th of 97 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index
MiniMax M2.7
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is comparatively weak here — behind DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 on Artificial Analysis's independent index
Sparse mixture-of-experts — roughly 230B total but only ~10B active, so it runs on local hardware
MiniMax M2.7
MiniMax M2.7 lists sparse mixture-of-experts — roughly 230B total but only ~10B active, so it runs on local hardware 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 4.9× more than MiniMax M2.7's 205K in a single prompt.
428B-parameter MoE (about 23B active) with weights on Hugging Face from October 23, 2026
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax M2.7 is comparatively weak here — open weights but a NON-COMMERCIAL licence — commercial use requires prior written authorisation from MiniMax, and at least one major tracker still mislabels it as MIT
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 runs cheaper at $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens.
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 4.9× larger than MiniMax M2.7's 205K, 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 MiniMax M2.7, 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 and terminal coding well above its price tier (57.0 on terminal-bench 2, vendor-reported)
→ MiniMax M2.7
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.
MiniMax M2.7: where it fits
A cheap open-weight agentic coder with near-frontier terminal scores — held back by a non-commercial licence and non-standard benchmarks. Released March 18, 2026 by MiniMax, it is built for agentic and terminal coding well above its price tier (57.0 on Terminal-Bench 2, vendor-reported), independently ranked 14th of 97 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, sparse mixture-of-experts — roughly 230B total but only ~10B active, so it runs on local hardware, and served by five separate hosts at uniform pricing, so there is no provider lock-in.
Its trade-offs are real: open weights but a NON-COMMERCIAL licence — commercial use requires prior written authorisation from MiniMax, and at least one major tracker still mislabels it as MIT, reports SWE-Bench Pro instead of the standard Verified set, which blocks like-for-like comparison, and already superseded internally by M3, and its 205K context is small against 1M-class rivals. At $0.3 in / $1.2 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
Because MiniMax M2.7 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash come from the same lab (MiniMax), they share the same training philosophy and ecosystem — the decision is purely tier vs. cost. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is the more capable, more recent option; the other earns its place only when its price or latency profile fits a specific job better. Most teams should default to MiniMax M3.1 Flash and drop down only with a concrete reason.
Want both MiniMax M2.7 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 MiniMax M2.7 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, MiniMax M2.7 leans toward agentic and terminal coding well above its price tier (57.0 on terminal-bench 2, vendor-reported) 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, MiniMax M2.7 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is cheaper — $0.3/$1.2 per 1M tokens vs $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens, roughly 2× apart on input.
Which has the bigger context window?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash — 1M tokens vs 205K, about 4.9× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Should I upgrade from MiniMax M2.7 to MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
Since both are MiniMax models, the newer one (MiniMax M3.1 Flash) is usually the better default unless you need a specific cost or latency profile from the other.
Which is newer, MiniMax M2.7 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash — released October 19, 2026, about 7 months after MiniMax M2.7.
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.