MiniMax M3 vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct
At a Glance
| Compare |  MiniMax M3MiniMax | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | UnrankedNot in the 44-model eligible cohort |
| 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 | $0.050Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $1.10Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $0.080Openrouter ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 1,049K | 131K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 28, 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 | Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,433.50100% of row best · rating · minimax-m3; 95% CI [1429.31077607, 1437.68800840]; votes 48540; rank 82 | 1,186.4883% of row best · rating · llama-3.1-8b-instruct; 95% CI [1182.38141125, 1190.58254982]; votes 49605; rank 313 |
| ToneBench2026-09-11-10-task-4ef099199c9c · overall_score · unverified | 83.44100% of row best · points · MiniMax M3 · 16,142 output tokens / case | 47.9257% of row best · points · Llama 3.1 8B · 1,165 output tokens / case |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 1 benchmark winNo overall winner | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner |
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 | Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | MiniMax | Meta |
| Family | Minimax M3 | Llama 3 1 8b Instruct |
| Model | MiniMax-M3 | Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct |
| Version | MiniMax-M3 | Llama-3.1-8B-Instruct |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-06-01 | 2024-07-23 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 1,049K | 131K |
| Total parameters | 427B | 8B |
| Active parameters | 23B | Unknown |
| License | other | llama3.1 |
| 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) | Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning, tools | chat, generation, tools |
MiniMax M3 Capabilities
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct Capabilities
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|---|---|---|---|
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MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs |  Qwen3.8-MaxQwen | cross-developer peersimage, text |
MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs |  Kimi-K3Moonshot AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs |  GLM-5.3Z.ai | cross-developer peerstext |
MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs |  Hy4 previewTencent | cross-developer peerstext |
MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs | Seed 2.1 ProByteDance Seed | cross-developer peersimage, text |
MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs |  Mistral Large 3Mistral AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
MiniMax M3 vs Llama 3.1 8B Instruct FAQs
Is MiniMax M3 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both MiniMax M3 and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M3 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?+
MiniMax M3 is $0.28 and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is $0.050 per million tokens, so Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper on this metric. MiniMax M3 is $1.10 and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is $0.080 per million tokens, so Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, MiniMax M3 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?+
MiniMax M3 has the larger sourced context window. MiniMax M3 supports 1,049K and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct supports 131K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, MiniMax M3 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can MiniMax M3 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same recorded self-hosting status: supported. MiniMax M3 is open weight; Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is open weight.
Can MiniMax M3 and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct understand images?+
MiniMax M3 is documented with image input; Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is not documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, MiniMax M3 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. MiniMax M3 is — and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct is —.
Do MiniMax M3 and Llama 3.1 8B Instruct support reasoning and tool use?+
MiniMax M3: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Llama 3.1 8B Instruct: tool calling. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, MiniMax M3 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?+
MiniMax M3 has 5 sourced provider routes; Llama 3.1 8B Instruct has 2, so MiniMax M3 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, MiniMax M3 or Llama 3.1 8B Instruct?+
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.