MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
MiniMax · China | Alibaba · China · 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 Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) for deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux) or exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 arena-hard v2, 85.2 writingbench). On a tight budget at scale, Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) is the value pick.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash (MiniMax) and Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) (Alibaba) are two of the models people most often weigh against each other in 2026. 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. Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) is an older 235B text-only open mixture-of-experts with broad knowledge and strong writing — but no vision, no thinking mode, and weak coding. They diverge most on price and context window — each quantified below from the models' real specs.
Key differences at a glance
- ▸Context window: MiniMax M3.1 Flash holds 3.8× more — 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) vs 256K (~393 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 15 months (released October 19, 2026), usually meaning fresher training data and capabilities.
Side-by-side specs
| Spec | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | MiniMax (China) | Alibaba (China) |
| Released | October 19, 2026 | July 21, 2025 |
| Context window | 1M tokens (~1,500 pages) | 256K (~393 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
Its 1M tokens window holds about 3.8× more than Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)'s 256K in a single prompt.
428B-parameter MoE (about 23B active) with weights on Hugging Face from October 23, 2026
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) is comparatively weak here — its 235B weights need roughly 438GB in BF16, far beyond consumer hardware
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.
Deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux)
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) lists deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux) among its strengths; MiniMax M3.1 Flash does not.
Exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench)
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) lists exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench) among its strengths; MiniMax M3.1 Flash does not.
Outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) lists outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic among its strengths; MiniMax M3.1 Flash does not.
Lowest cost at scale
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
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.
Largest single-prompt input
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Its 1M tokens window is about 3.8× larger than Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)'s 256K, fitting roughly 1,500 pages in one prompt.
Which should you pick?
A cost-sensitive startup shipping high volume
→ Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
At Open weight (self-host / free) it undercuts MiniMax M3.1 Flash, 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 $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 deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux)
→ Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)
That is its strongest area.
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.
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507): where it fits
An older 235B text-only open mixture-of-experts with broad knowledge and strong writing — but no vision, no thinking mode, and weak coding. Released July 21, 2025 by Alibaba, it is built for deep world knowledge from 235B total parameters (83.0 MMLU-Pro, 93.1 MMLU-Redux), exceptional multilingual and alignment results (79.2 Arena-Hard v2, 85.2 WritingBench), outstanding structured logic — 95.0 on ZebraLogic, and no thinking mode, which makes latency and token spend entirely predictable.
Its trade-offs: nearly a year old and superseded — Artificial Analysis now steers users to Qwen3.5-397B instead, text-only with no vision, and the absence of a thinking mode caps its hardest reasoning, coding is weak by 2026 standards, and it publishes no SWE-Bench score to compare on, and its 235B weights need roughly 438GB in BF16, far beyond consumer hardware. As an open-weight model, its running cost is your own hardware rather than a per-token fee.
The bottom line for this matchup
MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) overlap enough that the right pick depends on your specific job. Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) costs less per token; MiniMax M3.1 Flash holds the larger context; and each leads in its own area — MiniMax M3.1 Flash for $0.15/$0.60 per million tokens (cached $0.015) with flat pricing regardless of prompt length, Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) for deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux). Rather than crowning one, run the same hard task through both once and let the results decide.
Want both MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) 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 Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) 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 Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) leans toward deep world knowledge from 235b total parameters (83.0 mmlu-pro, 93.1 mmlu-redux), and that positioning usually predicts which feels better on your codebase.
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)?
Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) is cheaper — $0.15/$0.6 per 1M tokens vs Open weight (self-host / free).
Which has the bigger context window?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash — 1M tokens vs 256K, about 3.8× larger. Useful only if the model actually reasons over the full window, which not all do.
Can I use both MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) together?
Yes — a multi-model platform like LumiChats gives you MiniMax M3.1 Flash, Qwen3 235B A22B (2507) 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 Qwen3 235B A22B (2507)?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash — released October 19, 2026, about 15 months after Qwen3 235B A22B (2507).
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.