MiniMax M3 vs Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite
At a Glance
| Compare |  MiniMax M3MiniMax |  Gemini 3.5 Flash LiteGoogle DeepMind |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | #39 of 4617.6 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | #3 of 44$0.017 per LiveBench case | #8 of 44$0.029 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 | #32 of 3846.2 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.28Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $0.30Google AI ↗ · Aug 29, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $1.10Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $2.50Google AI ↗ · Aug 29, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 1,049K | 1,049K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 29, 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 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Agent Arenaagent-2026-09-15-d25aabda0010 · outcome_score · leader | -5.76100% of row best · score · Minimax M3; 95% CI [-6.59075506, -4.93697068]; sessions 39156; observations 2879059; rank 37 | -15.3590% of row best · score · Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite; 95% CI [-16.65525683, -14.04242266]; sessions 23248; observations 670178; rank 45 |
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · statistical tie | 1,433.50100% of row best · rating · minimax-m3; 95% CI [1429.31077607, 1437.68800840]; votes 48540; rank 82 | 1,435.54100% of row best · rating · gemini-3.5-flash-lite; 95% CI [1430.59505493, 1440.49024696]; votes 26165; rank 79 |
| LMArena Vision Arenavision-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · statistical tie | 1,254.3199% of row best · rating · minimax-m3; 95% CI [1247.29883203, 1261.32003459]; votes 15192; rank 50 | 1,268.42100% of row best · rating · gemini-3.5-flash-lite; 95% CI [1258.88097193, 1277.96729164]; votes 5254; rank 37 |
| LiveBench2026-06-25 · overall · leader | 70.26100% of row best · percent · minimax-m3 · 15,530 output tokens / case | 66.3594% of row best · percent · gemini-3.5-flash-lite-high · 11,526 output tokens / case |
| ToneBench2026-09-11-10-task-4ef099199c9c · overall_score · unverified | 83.44100% of row best · points · MiniMax M3 · 16,142 output tokens / case | 73.4288% of row best · points · Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite · 1,966 output tokens / case |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above · 2 ties | 2 benchmark winsOverall lead | 0 benchmark wins |
Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | MiniMax-M3 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | MiniMax | Google DeepMind |
| Family | Minimax M3 | Gemini 3 |
| Model | MiniMax-M3 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite |
| Version | MiniMax-M3 | Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-06-01 | Unknown |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image, Video, Audio, Document |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 1,049K | 1,049K |
| Total parameters | 427B | Unknown |
| Active parameters | 23B | Unknown |
| License | other | Unknown |
| Open weights | Yes | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Provider access | Deepinfra (Standard), Fireworks Ai (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) | Google AI (Standard), Google Gemini (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning, tools | chat, generation, reasoning, tools |
MiniMax M3 Capabilities
Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite Capabilities
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Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
MiniMax M3 vs Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite FAQs
Is MiniMax M3 or Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both MiniMax M3 and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M3 or Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite?+
MiniMax M3 is $0.28 and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is $0.30 per million tokens, so MiniMax M3 is cheaper on this metric. MiniMax M3 is $1.10 and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is $2.50 per million tokens, so MiniMax M3 is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, MiniMax M3 or Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite?+
Neither model has a larger sourced context window in this comparison. MiniMax M3 is 1,049K and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is 1,049K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, MiniMax M3 or Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite?+
MiniMax M3 leads the current overall benchmark count. The result uses 4 protocol-matched benchmarks from 2 publishers; it is not a universal quality score.
Can MiniMax M3 or Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite be self-hosted?+
MiniMax M3 is the only model in this pair currently marked as self-hostable. MiniMax M3 is open weight; Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is not marked open weight.
Can MiniMax M3 and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite understand images?+
MiniMax M3 is documented with image input; Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, MiniMax M3 or Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. MiniMax M3 is — and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite is 66K.
Do MiniMax M3 and Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite support reasoning and tool use?+
MiniMax M3: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, MiniMax M3 or Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite?+
MiniMax M3 has 5 sourced provider routes; Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite has 2, so MiniMax M3 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, MiniMax M3 or Gemini 3.5 Flash Lite?+
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.