MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra
MiniMax · China | NVIDIA · US · Updated June 2026
Quick verdict
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. Pick NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra for the most capable open-weight model from a us lab (artificial analysis intelligence index of about 48) or fast, efficient long-horizon agentic reasoning via a hybrid mamba-transformer design. On a tight budget at scale, NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra is the value pick.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash (MiniMax, China) and NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra (NVIDIA, US) line up two different AI ecosystems against each other — a comparison that is as much about cost philosophy and openness as raw capability. 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. NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra is nVIDIA's open-weight reasoning flagship (about 550B total, 55B active) — the most capable open model from a US lab, built for long-running agents. Their biggest split is price, and the breakdown below shows exactly how that plays out for your workload.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Context window: both advertise 1M tokens (~1,500 pages). Tie on paper — test on your own long inputs, since usable recall varies by model.
- ▸Recency: MiniMax M3.1 Flash is the newer model by about 5 months (released October 19, 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 | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | MiniMax (China) | NVIDIA (US) |
| Released | October 19, 2026 | June 4, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 1M (~1,500 pages) |
| Price (in/out) | $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens | Open weight (self-host / free) |
| Open weight? | Yes — self-hostable | Yes — self-hostable |
| Modalities | text, image, video, code | text, code |
| SWE-Bench Verified | Not published | Not published |
| MRCR v2 @ 1M | Not published | Not published |
Who wins what
$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 is the newer of the two.
428B-parameter MoE (about 23B active) with weights on Hugging Face from October 23, 2026
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash lists 428B-parameter MoE (about 23B active) with weights on Hugging Face from October 23, 2026 among its strengths; NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra does not.
DeepSWE v1.1 of 73.7% and OSWorld V2 of 61.7 (MiniMax-reported)
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash lists deepSWE v1.1 of 73.7% and OSWorld V2 of 61.7 (MiniMax-reported) among its strengths; NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra does not.
The most capable open-weight model from a US lab (Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index of about 48)
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is comparatively weak here — behind DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 on Artificial Analysis's independent index
Fast, efficient long-horizon agentic reasoning via a hybrid Mamba-Transformer design
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra lists fast, efficient long-horizon agentic reasoning via a hybrid Mamba-Transformer design among its strengths; MiniMax M3.1 Flash does not.
A fully open release — weights, training data, and recipes under a permissive license
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is comparatively weak here — custom MiniMax Community license: attribution required, and products above $20M annual revenue need written authorization
Lowest cost at scale
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra
Its weights are open, so at volume you pay for your own hardware instead of MiniMax M3.1 Flash's $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra
At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts MiniMax M3.1 Flash, and on millions of tokens that margin decides the monthly bill.
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
It is specifically built for that.
Anyone whose priority is the most capable open-weight model from a us lab (artificial analysis intelligence index of about 48)
→ NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra
That is its strongest area.
An enterprise with regional data-residency rules
→ NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra or MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Origin (China vs US) affects where data is processed and which compliance regime applies — check the provider's terms for your region.
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 are real: 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.
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra: where it fits
NVIDIA's open-weight reasoning flagship (about 550B total, 55B active) — the most capable open model from a US lab, built for long-running agents. Released June 4, 2026 by NVIDIA, it is built for the most capable open-weight model from a US lab (Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index of about 48), fast, efficient long-horizon agentic reasoning via a hybrid Mamba-Transformer design, a fully open release — weights, training data, and recipes under a permissive license, and strong coding for an open model (SWE-Bench Verified in the high 60s).
Its trade-offs: trails the best Chinese open models on overall intelligence, and a 550B mixture-of-experts is heavy to self-host, and the 1M context is rarely served in full. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
This is less "which is smarter" and more "which ecosystem fits." MiniMax M3.1 Flash (China) and NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra (US) differ on pricing philosophy, data-residency, and tooling as much as on raw scores. NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra 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 MiniMax M3.1 Flash and NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra 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 M3.1 Flash or NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra 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 M3.1 Flash leans toward $0.15/$0.60 per million tokens (cached $0.015) with flat pricing regardless of prompt length while NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra leans toward the most capable open-weight model from a us lab (artificial analysis intelligence index of about 48), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra?
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra is cheaper — $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs Open weight (self-host / free).
Which has the bigger context window?
Both advertise 1M tokens (~1,500 pages). Remember advertised ≠ usable: recall typically degrades before the ceiling.
Can I use both MiniMax M3.1 Flash and NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you MiniMax M3.1 Flash, NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra 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, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash — released October 19, 2026, about 5 months after NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Ultra.
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.