ZMIME
Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Ling 3.0 Flash vs MiniMax-M3.1-Flash

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash comes out ahead, 70 to 65 on our weighted score, though Ling 3.0 Flash is 2.9× cheaper per token.

  1. inclusionAI

    Ling 3.0 Flash

    Released Jul 23, 2026

    65/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.06 / $0.18
    • Context262K
  2. Our pick

    MiniMax

    MiniMax-M3.1-Flash

    Released Oct 19, 2026New

    70/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.15 / $0.60
    • Context1M
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is our pick

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 70/100 against Ling 3.0 Flash (65). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Ling 3.0 Flash wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

  • CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
  • Lowest priceLing 3.0 FlashLing 3.0 Flash $0.09 · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash $0.263 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextMiniMax-M3.1-FlashMiniMax-M3.1-Flash 1,000,000 · Ling 3.0 Flash 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsMiniMax-M3.1-FlashLing 3.0 Flash: Text · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingLing 3.0 FlashPublishes downloadable weights (MIT)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightLing 3.0 FlashMiniMax-M3.1-Flash
Price50%9574
Inputs & features30%3570
Context window20%3760
Overall100%65/10070/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Ling 3.0 Flash vs MiniMax-M3.1-Flash specifications side by side
SpecificationLing 3.0 FlashinclusionAIMiniMax-M3.1-FlashMiniMax
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.06 (best)$0.15
Output$0.18 (best)$0.60
Cached input—$0.015
Blended (3:1)$0.09 (best)$0.263
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 7 providersOfficial MiniMax (minimax.io) API
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens1,000,000 tokens (best)
Max output32,768 tokens512,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYesYeslow · medium · high · xhigh · max
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenMITProprietary
API model ID—MiniMax-M3.1-Flash
API providers925 (best)
ReleasedJul 23, 2026Oct 19, 2026
Knowledge cutoff——
03 — Cost

What would a month cost?

Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.

  • Ling 3.0 Flash$0.96
  • MiniMax-M3.1-Flash$2.70
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Ling 3.0 Flash or MiniMax-M3.1-Flash?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 70/100 against Ling 3.0 Flash (65). It leads on inputs & features and context window. Ling 3.0 Flash wins on price. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.

Which is cheaper, Ling 3.0 Flash or MiniMax-M3.1-Flash?

Ling 3.0 Flash is cheaper at $0.06 input / $0.18 output per million tokens (median across 7 API providers). MiniMax-M3.1-Flash costs $0.15 input / $0.60 output per million tokens (official MiniMax (minimax.io) API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.09 per million tokens for Ling 3.0 Flash versus $0.263 for MiniMax-M3.1-Flash (2.9× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Ling 3.0 Flash has not been scored yet and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Ling 3.0 Flash and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.

Which has the bigger context window?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Ling 3.0 Flash. Maximum output per response: Ling 3.0 Flash up to 32,768, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash up to 512,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Ling 3.0 Flash accepts text; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash accepts text, images and video. MiniMax-M3.1-Flash handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Ling 3.0 Flash publishes its weights (MIT) and can be self-hosted; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is proprietary.

Which is newer?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is the newest, released Oct 19, 2026. Ling 3.0 Flash came out Jul 23, 2026.

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 Nov 2, 2026.