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R1 Distill Llama 70B vs MiniMax-01

R1 Distill Llama 70B (DeepSeek) and MiniMax-01 (MiniMax) 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 17 August 2026

As of 17 August 2026, MiniMax-01 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#189 vs #192); R1 Distill Llama 70B is 1.4× cheaper per output token ($0.80/1M vs $1.10/1M); MiniMax-01 offers the longer context window (1M vs 8K tokens); and R1 Distill Llama 70B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose R1 Distill Llama 70B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.80/1M output tokens against $1.10/1M, about 1.4× cheaper.
  • you want to self-host: R1 Distill Llama 70B ships open weights while MiniMax-01 is license unverified.
  • you want the more recently listed model — R1 Distill Llama 70B was listed 23 January 2025, MiniMax-01 15 January 2025.

Choose MiniMax-01 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #189 against #192 (13.8 vs 11.5 points).
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.20/1M against $0.80/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 8K.

R1 Distill Llama 70B vs MiniMax-01: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of R1 Distill Llama 70B and MiniMax-01
FieldR1 Distill Llama 70BDeepSeekMiniMax-01MiniMax
ModelCap Index position#192#189
Index score11.513.8
EvidenceMeasuredEstimated
Input price / 1M tokens$0.80$0.20
Output price / 1M tokens$0.80$1.10
Context window8K tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens8K1M
API providers listed11
Weight accessOpen weightsLicense unverified
Input modalitiesTextText, Image
First listed23 January 202515 January 2025
PublisherDeepSeekMiniMax

Evidence: 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board · start rank interpolated from the launch card's own comparison table against resolved catalogue peers, discounted for measured cross-lab optimism. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: R1 Distill Llama 70B vs MiniMax-01

Public benchmark boards where R1 Distill Llama 70B or MiniMax-01 has a published result
BoardR1 Distill Llama 70BMiniMax-01Leads
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis9.8intelligence-index—Only 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.

R1 Distill Llama 70B vs MiniMax-01: common questions

Is R1 Distill Llama 70B better than MiniMax-01?

MiniMax-01 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 17 August 2026: #189 against #192. 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 R1 Distill Llama 70B cheaper than MiniMax-01?

R1 Distill Llama 70B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.80/1M against $1.10/1M. Input tokens are $0.80/1M for R1 Distill Llama 70B and $0.20/1M for MiniMax-01. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, R1 Distill Llama 70B or MiniMax-01?

MiniMax-01 has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 8K.

Which is better for coding, R1 Distill Llama 70B or MiniMax-01?

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 R1 Distill Llama 70B and MiniMax-01 open-weight models?

R1 Distill Llama 70B: Open weights. MiniMax-01: License unverified. 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 R1 Distill Llama 70B and MiniMax-01?

ModelCap currently lists 1 API provider for R1 Distill Llama 70B and 1 for MiniMax-01, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this R1 Distill Llama 70B vs MiniMax-01 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 17 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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