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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Oct 4, 2026

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview vs Gemma 4 12B IT

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview comes out ahead, 66 to 57 on our weighted score.

  1. Our pick

    MiniMax

    MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview

    Released Sep 27, 2026

    66/100
    • ECI—
    • Price—
    • Context1M
    Full specs Remove MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview

  2. Google

    Gemma 4 12B IT

    Released Jun 9, 2026

    57/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.075 / $0.275
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Gemma 4 12B IT

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is our pick

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 66/100 against Gemma 4 12B IT (57). It leads on context window. 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 priceGemma 4 12B ITGemma 4 12B IT $0.125 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview unpriced
  • Longest contextMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-PreviewMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview 1,000,000 · Gemma 4 12B IT 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-PreviewMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview: Text, Images, Video · Gemma 4 12B IT: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingGemma 4 12B ITPublishes downloadable weights
How the score is built
MeasureWeightMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-PreviewGemma 4 12B IT
Inputs & features60%7070
Context window40%6037
Overall100%66/10057/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability and price. 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.

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview vs Gemma 4 12B IT specifications side by side
SpecificationMiniMax-M3.1-Flash-PreviewMiniMaxGemma 4 12B ITGoogle
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input—$0.075
Output—$0.275
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)—$0.125
Long-context rate—Same rate
Price source—Median of 2 providers
Limits
Context window1,000,000 tokens (best)262,144 tokens
Max output512,000 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoYesNo
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryOpen
API model ID——
API providers—2
ReleasedSep 27, 2026Jun 9, 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.

  • MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview—
  • Gemma 4 12B IT$1.30
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview or Gemma 4 12B IT?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 66/100 against Gemma 4 12B IT (57). It leads on context window. 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, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview or Gemma 4 12B IT?

Gemma 4 12B IT is cheaper at $0.075 input / $0.275 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). . At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.125 per million tokens for Gemma 4 12B IT versus . MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview has no published per-token price.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview has not been scored yet and Gemma 4 12B IT has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview and Gemma 4 12B IT 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-Preview has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Gemma 4 12B IT. Maximum output per response: MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview up to 512,000, Gemma 4 12B IT up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview accepts text, images and video; Gemma 4 12B IT accepts text and images. MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

Gemma 4 12B IT publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is proprietary.

Which is newer?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is the newest, released Sep 27, 2026. Gemma 4 12B IT came out Jun 9, 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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