GPT-5.4 nano vs MiniMax-M2.5 vs Qwen3 Max

GPT-5.4 nano is the better all-round choice, scoring 68/100 against MiniMax-M2.5 (61) and Qwen3 Max (50). It leads on price, inputs & features and context window. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.

GPT-5.4 nano is cheaper at $0.20 input / $1.25 output per million tokens (official OpenAI API price). MiniMax-M2.5 costs $0.30 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (official MiniMax (minimax.io) API price); Qwen3 Max costs $1.20 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.463 per million tokens for GPT-5.4 nano versus $0.525 for MiniMax-M2.5 (1.1× as much) and $2.40 for Qwen3 Max (5.2× as much).

MiniMax-M2.5 scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): MiniMax-M2.5 146.7 (#66 of 148), GPT-5.4 nano 145.8 (#75 of 148) and Qwen3 Max 142.4 (#91 of 148). The confidence ranges of the top two overlap (142.3–147.9 vs 143.2–147.7), so treat the gap as small.

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for GPT-5.4 nano, MiniMax-M2.5 and Qwen3 Max yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, MiniMax-M2.5 leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.

GPT-5.4 nano has the largest context window at 400,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3 Max and 204,800 for MiniMax-M2.5. Maximum output per response: GPT-5.4 nano up to 128,000, MiniMax-M2.5 up to 131,072, Qwen3 Max up to 65,536 tokens.

GPT-5.4 nano accepts text and images; MiniMax-M2.5 accepts text; Qwen3 Max accepts text. GPT-5.4 nano handles the widest range of inputs.

MiniMax-M2.5 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; GPT-5.4 nano and Qwen3 Max is proprietary.

GPT-5.4 nano is the newest, released Mar 17, 2026. MiniMax-M2.5 came out Feb 12, 2026; Qwen3 Max came out Sep 23, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: GPT-5.4 nano Aug 31, 2025, Qwen3 Max Apr 2025.

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.