MiniMax M2 vs MiniMax M3 Thinking
MiniMax M2 is cheaper on output tokens, while MiniMax M3 Thinking offers a larger context window. Choose MiniMax M2 or MiniMax M3 Thinking based on the trade-off between cost, context, and the benchmarks that matter for your use case.
| Spec | MiniMax M2 | MiniMax M3 Thinking |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | MiniMax | NanoGPT |
| Input / 1M tokens | $0.26 | $0.30 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $1.02 | $1.20 |
| Context window | 205K | 512K |
| Parameters | 229B | — |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| Released | Oct 2025 | Jun 2026 |
| SWE-bench Verified score | 61.0 | — |
| LMArena (Chatbot Arena) Elo score | 1340 | — |
| LMArena WebDev Elo score | 1297 | — |
| LiveBench score | — | 70.0 |
FAQ
Is MiniMax M2 or MiniMax M3 Thinking cheaper?
MiniMax M2 is cheaper on output tokens ($1.02 vs $1.20 per 1M).
Which has the larger context window, MiniMax M2 or MiniMax M3 Thinking?
MiniMax M3 Thinking has the larger context window (512K tokens).
Pricing is indicative — confirm with the provider before production use. Highlighted values indicate the better figure for that row.