DeepSeek V4 Flash vs MiniMax-M3
Too close to call on our weighted score (DeepSeek V4 Flash 71, MiniMax-M3 69). The right pick depends on what you value most.
DeepSeekDeepSeek V4 Flash
71/100- ECI146.1
- Price$0.14 / $0.28
- Context1M
MiniMaxMiniMax-M3
69/100- ECI147.0
- Price$0.30 / $1.20
- Context1.05M
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (DeepSeek V4 Flash 71/100, MiniMax-M3 69/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: MiniMax-M3 for raw capability and DeepSeek V4 Flash on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityMiniMax-M3Capabilities Index (ECI): MiniMax-M3 147.0 · DeepSeek V4 Flash 146.1
- Lowest priceDeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek V4 Flash $0.175 · MiniMax-M3 $0.525 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextMiniMax-M3MiniMax-M3 1,048,576 · DeepSeek V4 Flash 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsMiniMax-M3DeepSeek V4 Flash: Text · MiniMax-M3: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | DeepSeek V4 Flash | MiniMax-M3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 73 | 74 |
| Price | 25% | 86 | 63 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 45 | 70 |
| Context window | 10% | 60 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 71/100 | 69/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | DeepSeek V4 FlashDeepSeek | MiniMax-M3MiniMax |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 146.1 | 147.0 (best) |
| ECI rank | #71 of 148 | #62 of 148 (best) |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | — | 90.9% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | — | 71.1% |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.14 (best) | $0.30 |
| Output | $0.28 (best) | $1.20 |
| Cached input | — | $0.06 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.175 (best) | $0.525 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Over 512K: $0.60 / $2.40 |
| Price source | Median of 42 providers | Official MiniMax (minimax.io) API |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 384,000 tokens | 512,000 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Open |
| API model ID | — | MiniMax-M3 |
| API providers | 48 (best) | 42 |
| Released | Apr 24, 2026 | Jun 1, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | May 2025 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash$1.96
- MiniMax-M3$5.40
Which should you choose?
Which is better: DeepSeek V4 Flash or MiniMax-M3?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 1 points (DeepSeek V4 Flash 71/100, MiniMax-M3 69/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: MiniMax-M3 for raw capability and DeepSeek V4 Flash on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V4 Flash or MiniMax-M3?
DeepSeek V4 Flash is cheaper at $0.14 input / $0.28 output per million tokens (median across 42 API providers). MiniMax-M3 costs $0.30 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (official MiniMax (minimax.io) API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.175 per million tokens for DeepSeek V4 Flash versus $0.525 for MiniMax-M3 (3× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
MiniMax-M3 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): MiniMax-M3 147.0 (#62 of 148) and DeepSeek V4 Flash 146.1 (#71 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (142.7–149.8 vs 143.6–147.9), so treat the gap as small.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for DeepSeek V4 Flash and MiniMax-M3 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, MiniMax-M3 leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
MiniMax-M3 has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,000,000 for DeepSeek V4 Flash. Maximum output per response: DeepSeek V4 Flash up to 384,000, MiniMax-M3 up to 512,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
DeepSeek V4 Flash accepts text; MiniMax-M3 accepts text, images and video. MiniMax-M3 handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights, so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
MiniMax-M3 is the newest, released Jun 1, 2026. DeepSeek V4 Flash came out Apr 24, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: DeepSeek V4 Flash May 2025.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Oct 4, 2026.
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