MiniMax-M3 vs MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview vs Qwen3.7 Plus
Qwen3.7 Plus comes out ahead, 72 to 66 and 66 on our weighted score, though MiniMax-M3 is 25% cheaper per token.
MiniMaxMiniMax-M3
66/100- ECI147.0
- Price$0.30 / $1.20
- Context1.05M
- MiniMax
MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview
66/100- ECI—
- Price—
- Context1M
- Our pick
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.7 Plus
72/100- ECI147.4
- Price$0.40 / $1.60
- Context1M
Qwen3.7 Plus is our pick
Qwen3.7 Plus is the better all-round choice, scoring 72/100 against MiniMax-M3 (66) and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview (66). It leads on inputs & features. 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 priceMiniMax-M3MiniMax-M3 $0.525 · Qwen3.7 Plus $0.70 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview unpriced
- Longest contextMiniMax-M3MiniMax-M3 1,048,576 · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview 1,000,000 · Qwen3.7 Plus 1,000,000 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsMiniMax-M3: Text, Images, Video · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview: Text, Images, Video · Qwen3.7 Plus: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingMiniMax-M3Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | MiniMax-M3 | MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview | Qwen3.7 Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inputs & features | 60% | 70 | 70 | 80 |
| Context window | 40% | 61 | 60 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 66/100 | 66/100 | 72/100 |
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 | MiniMax-M3MiniMax | MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-PreviewMiniMax | Qwen3.7 PlusAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 147.0 | — | 147.4 (best) |
| ECI rank | #62 of 148 | — | #61 of 148 (best) |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 90.9% (best) | — | 87.9% |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | — | — | 34.4% |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 71.1% | — | 93.3% (best) |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.30 (best) | — | $0.40 |
| Output | $1.20 (best) | — | $1.60 |
| Cached input | $0.06 | — | $0.04 (best) |
| Blended (3:1) | $0.525 (best) | — | $0.70 |
| Long-context rate | Over 512K: $0.60 / $2.40 | — | Over 256K: $1.20 / $4.80 |
| Price source | Official MiniMax (minimax.io) API | — | Official Alibaba API |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens (best) | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
| Max output | 512,000 tokens (best) | 512,000 tokens (best) | 64,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | Yes |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| API model ID | MiniMax-M3 | — | qwen3.7-plus |
| API providers | 42 (best) | — | 25 |
| Released | Jun 1, 2026 | Sep 27, 2026 | Jun 2, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — | Apr 2025 |
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$5.40
- MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview—
- Qwen3.7 Plus$7.20
Which should you choose?
Which is better: MiniMax-M3, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview or Qwen3.7 Plus?
Qwen3.7 Plus is the better all-round choice, scoring 72/100 against MiniMax-M3 (66) and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview (66). It leads on inputs & features. 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, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview or Qwen3.7 Plus?
MiniMax-M3 is cheaper at $0.30 input / $1.20 output per million tokens (official MiniMax (minimax.io) API price). Qwen3.7 Plus costs $0.40 input / $1.60 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.525 per million tokens for MiniMax-M3 versus $0.70 for Qwen3.7 Plus (1.3× 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. MiniMax-M3 has an ECI of 147.0, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview has not been scored yet and Qwen3.7 Plus has an ECI of 147.4.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for MiniMax-M3, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview and Qwen3.7 Plus 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 has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 1,000,000 for MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview and 1,000,000 for Qwen3.7 Plus. Maximum output per response: MiniMax-M3 up to 512,000, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview up to 512,000, Qwen3.7 Plus up to 64,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
MiniMax-M3 accepts text, images and video; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview accepts text, images and video; Qwen3.7 Plus accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
MiniMax-M3 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview and Qwen3.7 Plus is proprietary.
Which is newer?
MiniMax-M3.1-Flash-Preview is the newest, released Sep 27, 2026. Qwen3.7 Plus came out Jun 2, 2026; MiniMax-M3 came out Jun 1, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3.7 Plus Apr 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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