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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Qwen3.8 Flash vs MiniMax-M3.1-Flash

Qwen3.8 Flash comes out ahead, 74 to 70 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Alibaba (Qwen)

    Qwen3.8 Flash

    Released Aug 26, 2026

    74/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.15 / $0.47
    • Context1M
    Full specs Remove Qwen3.8 Flash

  2. MiniMax

    MiniMax-M3.1-Flash

    Released Oct 19, 2026New

    70/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.15 / $0.60
    • Context1M
    Full specs Remove MiniMax-M3.1-Flash

  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Qwen3.8 Flash is our pick

Qwen3.8 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 74/100 against MiniMax-M3.1-Flash (70). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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 priceQwen3.8 FlashQwen3.8 Flash $0.23 · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash $0.263 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3.8 Flash 1,000,000 · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash 1,000,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3.8 Flash: Text, Images, Video · MiniMax-M3.1-Flash: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightQwen3.8 FlashMiniMax-M3.1-Flash
Price50%7774
Inputs & features30%8070
Context window20%6060
Overall100%74/10070/100

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.

Qwen3.8 Flash vs MiniMax-M3.1-Flash specifications side by side
SpecificationQwen3.8 FlashAlibaba (Qwen)MiniMax-M3.1-FlashMiniMax
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.15$0.15
Output$0.47 (best)$0.60
Cached input$0.016$0.015 (best)
Blended (3:1)$0.23 (best)$0.263
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Alibaba APIOfficial MiniMax (minimax.io) API
Limits
Context window1,000,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens
Max output131,072 tokens512,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoYesYes
ReasoningYeslow · medium · xhighYeslow · medium · high · xhigh · max
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDqwen3.8-flashMiniMax-M3.1-Flash
API providers28 (best)25
ReleasedAug 26, 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.

  • Qwen3.8 Flash$2.44
  • MiniMax-M3.1-Flash$2.70
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Qwen3.8 Flash or MiniMax-M3.1-Flash?

Qwen3.8 Flash is the better all-round choice, scoring 74/100 against MiniMax-M3.1-Flash (70). It leads on price and inputs & features. 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, Qwen3.8 Flash or MiniMax-M3.1-Flash?

Qwen3.8 Flash is cheaper at $0.15 input / $0.47 output per million tokens (official Alibaba API price). 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 $0.23 per million tokens for Qwen3.8 Flash versus $0.263 for MiniMax-M3.1-Flash (1.1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3.8 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 Qwen3.8 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?

Qwen3.8 Flash and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash share the same 1,000,000-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3.8 Flash up to 131,072, MiniMax-M3.1-Flash up to 512,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Qwen3.8 Flash accepts text, images and video; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

No. Qwen3.8 Flash and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is the newest, released Oct 19, 2026. Qwen3.8 Flash came out Aug 26, 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.

05 — Keep comparing

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