Ling 3.1 Flash vs MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview vs Viv Fast
Too close to call on our weighted score (MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview 66, Viv Fast 66, Ling 3.1 Flash 36). The right pick depends on what you value most.
inclusionAILing 3.1 Flash
36/100- ECI—
- Price$0.075 / $0.22
- Context262K
MiniMaxMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview
66/100- ECI—
- Price—
- Context1M
VivgridViv Fast
66/100- ECI—
- Price$0.13 / $0.40
- Context1M
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview 66/100, Viv Fast 66/100, Ling 3.1 Flash 36/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Ling 3.1 Flash on price. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. 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 3.1 FlashLing 3.1 Flash $0.111 · Viv Fast $0.198 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview unpriced
- Longest contextMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview and Viv FastMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview 1,000,000 · Viv Fast 1,000,000 · Ling 3.1 Flash 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-PreviewLing 3.1 Flash: Text · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview: Text, Images, Video · Viv Fast: Text, Images
- Self-hostingNo open weightsAll three are available only through APIs
| Measure | Weight | Ling 3.1 Flash | MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview | Viv Fast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inputs & features | 60% | 35 | 70 | 70 |
| Context window | 40% | 37 | 60 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 36/100 | 66/100 | 66/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Ling 3.1 FlashinclusionAI | MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-PreviewMiniMax | Viv FastVivgrid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.075 (best) | — | $0.13 |
| Output | $0.22 (best) | — | $0.40 |
| Cached input | — | — | $0.05 |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.111 (best) | — | $0.198 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | — | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | — | Official Vivgrid API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 512,000 tokens (best) | 256,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yeslow · high · max |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — | viv-fast |
| API providers | 3 (best) | — | 1 |
| Released | Sep 29, 2026 | Sep 27, 2026 | Sep 21, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — | Sep 2026 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Ling 3.1 Flash$1.19
- MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview—
- Viv Fast$2.10
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Ling 3.1 Flash, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview or Viv Fast?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within a point (MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview 66/100, Viv Fast 66/100, Ling 3.1 Flash 36/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Ling 3.1 Flash on price. The score weighs inputs & features 60%, context window 40%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Ling 3.1 Flash, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview or Viv Fast?
Ling 3.1 Flash is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.22 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). Viv Fast costs $0.13 input / $0.40 output per million tokens (official Vivgrid API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.111 per million tokens for Ling 3.1 Flash versus $0.198 for Viv Fast (1.8× as much). MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview has no published per-token price.
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Ling 3.1 Flash has not been scored yet, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview has not been scored yet and Viv Fast has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Ling 3.1 Flash, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview and Viv Fast yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview and Viv Fast have the largest context windows (1,000,000 and 1,000,000 tokens), against 262,144 for Ling 3.1 Flash. Maximum output per response: Ling 3.1 Flash up to 32,768, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview up to 512,000, Viv Fast up to 256,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Ling 3.1 Flash accepts text; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview accepts text, images and video; Viv Fast accepts text and images. MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
No. Ling 3.1 Flash, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview and Viv Fast are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.
Which is newer?
Ling 3.1 Flash is the newest, released Sep 29, 2026. MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview came out Sep 27, 2026; Viv Fast came out Sep 21, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Viv Fast Sep 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 Oct 4, 2026.
