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Head-to-head comparison

Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M1 80k

Nova 2 Lite (Amazon) and MiniMax M1 80k (MiniMaxAI) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 18 August 2026

As of 18 August 2026, Nova 2 Lite holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#87 vs #112); and MiniMax M1 80k ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Nova 2 Lite if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #87 against #112 (27.5 vs 22.0 points).
  • you want provider choice — 1 listed API providers against 0.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Nova 2 Lite was listed 2 December 2025, MiniMax M1 80k 13 June 2025.

Choose MiniMax M1 80k if…

  • you want to self-host: MiniMax M1 80k ships open weights while Nova 2 Lite is api only.

Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M1 80k: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Nova 2 Lite and MiniMax M1 80k
FieldNova 2 LiteAmazonMiniMax M1 80kMiniMaxAI
ModelCap Index position#87#112
Index score27.522.0
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.30Unlisted
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50Unlisted
Context window1M tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens66K—
API providers listed10
Weight accessAPI onlyOpen weights
Input modalitiesText, Image, Video, FileText
First listed2 December 202513 June 2025
PublisherAmazonMiniMaxAI

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M1 80k

Public benchmark boards where Nova 2 Lite or MiniMax M1 80k has a published result
BoardNova 2 LiteMiniMax M1 80kLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)13951383–1406—Only one result
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)27.1Function calling—Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—17.9intelligence-indexOnly one result

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M1 80k: common questions

Is Nova 2 Lite better than MiniMax M1 80k?

Nova 2 Lite ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #87 against #112. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is Nova 2 Lite cheaper than MiniMax M1 80k?

At least one of the two has no listed API price on ModelCap right now, so no price comparison is made.

Which has the bigger context window, Nova 2 Lite or MiniMax M1 80k?

Both publish a 1M-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Nova 2 Lite or MiniMax M1 80k?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are Nova 2 Lite and MiniMax M1 80k open-weight models?

Nova 2 Lite: API only. MiniMax M1 80k: Open weights. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Nova 2 Lite and MiniMax M1 80k?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for Nova 2 Lite and 0 for MiniMax M1 80k, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Nova 2 Lite vs MiniMax M1 80k comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 18 August 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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