MiniMax M3 vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
At a Glance
| Compare |  MiniMax M3MiniMax |  DeepSeek V4.1 FlashDeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5 | #35 of 4632.6 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 21.8–55.1 | UnrankedNot in the 46-model eligible cohort |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | #3 of 44$0.017 per LiveBench case | #5 of 44$0.022 per LiveBench case |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.5 | #10 of 3859.2 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 53.8–70.4 | UnrankedNot in the 38-model eligible cohort |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.28Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $0.15DeepSeek ↗ · Sep 10, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $1.10Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $0.60Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 1,049K | 1,049K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → | Sep 10, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
| Benchmark | MiniMax-M3 | DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Agent Arenaagent-2026-09-15-d25aabda0010 · outcome_score · leader | -5.7690% of row best · score · Minimax M3; 95% CI [-6.59075506, -4.93697068]; sessions 39156; observations 2879059; rank 37 | 4.88100% of row best · score · Deepseek V4.1 Flash (Max); 95% CI [3.54852933, 6.21109128]; sessions 20080; observations 2295632; rank 12 |
| LiveBench2026-06-25 · overall · leader | 70.2684% of row best · percent · minimax-m3 · 15,530 output tokens / case | 83.20100% of row best · percent · deepseek-v4.1-flash-max · 36,355 output tokens / case |
| ToneBench2026-09-11-10-task-4ef099199c9c · overall_score · unverified | 83.4495% of row best · points · MiniMax M3 · 16,142 output tokens / case | 88.03100% of row best · points · DeepSeek V4.1 Flash (max) · 18,199 output tokens / case |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 0 benchmark wins | 2 benchmark winsOverall lead |
Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.
Quality Versus Estimated Output Cost
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | MiniMax-M3 | DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | MiniMax | DeepSeek |
| Family | Minimax M3 | Deepseek V4 1 |
| Model | MiniMax-M3 | DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash |
| Version | MiniMax-M3 | DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-06-01 | 2026-09-10 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 1,049K | 1,049K |
| Total parameters | 427B | 763.2B |
| Active parameters | 23B | Unknown |
| License | other | mit |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Deepinfra (Standard), Fireworks Ai (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) | DeepSeek (Standard), Deepinfra (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning, tools | agents, chat, fim, generation, reasoning, responses, structured_outputs, tools, vision |
| Architecture design | Unknown | Causal Encoder-Decoder (20 encoder + 20 decoder layers) |
| Backbone parameters | Unknown | 552000000000 parameters |
| Active parameters during decode | Unknown | 16000000000 parameters |
| Active parameters during prefill | Unknown | 8000000000 parameters |
| Pre-training corpus | Unknown | 45000000000000 tokens |
| Reasoning effort range | Unknown | 1–100 |
| Routed experts per MoE layer | Unknown | 384 experts |
| Routed experts per token | Unknown | 6 experts |
| Transformer layers | Unknown | 40 layers |
MiniMax M3 Capabilities
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash Capabilities
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Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
MiniMax M3 vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash FAQs
Is MiniMax M3 or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both MiniMax M3 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M3 or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash?+
MiniMax M3 is $0.28 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is $0.15 per million tokens, so DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is cheaper on this metric. MiniMax M3 is $1.10 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is $0.60 per million tokens, so DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, MiniMax M3 or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash?+
Neither model has a larger sourced context window in this comparison. MiniMax M3 is 1,049K and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 1,049K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, MiniMax M3 or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash?+
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash leads the current overall benchmark count. The result uses 2 protocol-matched benchmarks from 2 publishers; it is not a universal quality score.
Can MiniMax M3 or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same recorded self-hosting status: supported. MiniMax M3 is open weight; DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is open weight.
Can MiniMax M3 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash understand images?+
MiniMax M3 is documented with image input; DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, MiniMax M3 or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. MiniMax M3 is — and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is 393K.
Do MiniMax M3 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash support reasoning and tool use?+
MiniMax M3: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, MiniMax M3 or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash?+
MiniMax M3 has 5 sourced provider routes; DeepSeek V4.1 Flash has 3, so MiniMax M3 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, MiniMax M3 or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.