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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) vs Qwen3-VL Plus

Qwen3-VL Plus comes out ahead, 57 to 39 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. MiniMax

    MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax)

    Released Jan 15, 2025

    39/100
    • ECI—
    • Price—
    • Context1M
    Full specs Remove MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax)
  2. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3-VL Plus

    Released Sep 23, 2025

    57/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.20 / $1.60
    • Context262K
    Full specs Remove Qwen3-VL Plus

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3-VL Plus is our pick

Qwen3-VL Plus is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) (39). It leads on inputs & features. MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) wins 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 priceQwen3-VL PlusQwen3-VL Plus $0.55 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend) · MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) unpriced
  • Longest contextMiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax)MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) 1,000,000 · Qwen3-VL Plus 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsQwen3-VL PlusMiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax): Text · Qwen3-VL Plus: Text, Images
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightMiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax)Qwen3-VL Plus
Inputs & features60%2570
Context window40%6037
Overall100%39/10057/100

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 Text 01 (MiniMax) vs Qwen3-VL Plus specifications side by side
SpecificationMiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax)MiniMaxQwen3-VL PlusAlibaba (Qwen)
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input—$0.20
Output—$1.60
Cached input—$0.04
Blended (3:1)—$0.55
Long-context rate—Over 32K: $0.30 / $2.40
Price source—Official Alibaba API
Limits
Context window1,000,000 tokens (best)262,144 tokens
Max output131,072 tokens (best)32,768 tokens
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoYes
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model ID—qwen3-vl-plus
API providers—6
ReleasedJan 15, 2025Sep 23, 2025
Knowledge cutoff—Apr 2025
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 Text 01 (MiniMax)—
  • Qwen3-VL Plus$5.20
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) or Qwen3-VL Plus?

Qwen3-VL Plus is the better all-round choice, scoring 57/100 against MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) (39). It leads on inputs & features. MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) wins 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 Text 01 (MiniMax) or Qwen3-VL Plus?

Qwen3-VL Plus is cheaper at $0.20 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 $0.55 per million tokens for Qwen3-VL Plus versus . MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) has no published per-token price.

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) has not been scored yet and Qwen3-VL Plus has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) and Qwen3-VL Plus 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 Text 01 (MiniMax) has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Qwen3-VL Plus. Maximum output per response: MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) up to 131,072, Qwen3-VL Plus up to 32,768 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) accepts text; Qwen3-VL Plus accepts text and images. Qwen3-VL Plus handles the widest range of inputs.

Are any of these open source?

No. MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) and Qwen3-VL Plus are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Qwen3-VL Plus is the newest, released Sep 23, 2025. MiniMax Text 01 (MiniMax) came out Jan 15, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3-VL 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 Nov 2, 2026.

05 — Keep comparing

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