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Head-to-head comparison

Gemma 4 26B A4B vs MiniMax M3

Gemma 4 26B A4B (Google) and MiniMax M3 (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 22 September 2026

As of 22 September 2026, MiniMax M3 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#37 vs #38); Gemma 4 26B A4B is 4× cheaper per output token ($0.30/1M vs $1.20/1M); MiniMax M3 offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens); and Gemma 4 26B A4B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemma 4 26B A4B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.30/1M output tokens against $1.20/1M, about 4× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.09/1M against $0.30/1M.
  • you want to self-host: Gemma 4 26B A4B ships open weights while MiniMax M3 is restricted license.

Choose MiniMax M3 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #37 against #38 (70.8 vs 70.2 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.
  • you want provider choice — 13 listed API providers against 12.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1496 against 1481.
  • AA τ²-Bench Telecom is your yardstick — 88.9% against 40.4%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 39.0% against 11.5%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — MiniMax M3 was listed 31 May 2026, Gemma 4 26B A4B 3 April 2026.

Gemma 4 26B A4B vs MiniMax M3: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemma 4 26B A4B and MiniMax M3
FieldGemma 4 26B A4BGoogleMiniMax M3MiniMax
ModelCap Index position#38#37
Index score70.270.8
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.09$0.30
Output price / 1M tokens$0.30$1.20
Context window262K tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens236K512K
API providers listed1213
Weight accessOpen weightsRestricted license
Input modalitiesImage, Text, VideoText, Image, Video
First listed3 April 202631 May 2026
PublisherGoogleMiniMax

Evidence: 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards · 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Gemma 4 26B A4B vs MiniMax M3

Public benchmark boards where Gemma 4 26B A4B or MiniMax M3 has a published result
BoardGemma 4 26B A4BMiniMax M3Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14811466–149614961490–1503MiniMax M3
LMArena AgentLMArena—-5.8%-6.6%–-4.9%Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis—29.2intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecifiedOnly one result
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis40.4%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="Gemma 4 26B A4B (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=false88.9%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="MiniMax-M3":reasoning=trueMiniMax M3
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis11.5%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Gemma 4 26B A4B (Non-reasoning)":reasoning=false39.0%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="MiniMax-M3":reasoning=trueMiniMax M3

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.

Gemma 4 26B A4B vs MiniMax M3: common questions

Is Gemma 4 26B A4B better than MiniMax M3?

MiniMax M3 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 22 September 2026: #37 against #38. 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. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is Gemma 4 26B A4B cheaper than MiniMax M3?

Gemma 4 26B A4B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.30/1M against $1.20/1M. Input tokens are $0.09/1M for Gemma 4 26B A4B and $0.30/1M for MiniMax M3. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $0.33 for Gemma 4 26B A4B versus $1.20 for MiniMax M3. Gemma 4 26B A4B costs 72.5% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 4 26B A4B or MiniMax M3?

MiniMax M3 has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 4 26B A4B or MiniMax M3?

Arena coding: Gemma 4 26B A4B 1481, MiniMax M3 1496 — MiniMax M3 leads.

Are Gemma 4 26B A4B and MiniMax M3 open-weight models?

Gemma 4 26B A4B: Open weights. MiniMax M3: Restricted license. 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 Gemma 4 26B A4B and MiniMax M3?

ModelCap currently lists 12 API providers for Gemma 4 26B A4B and 13 for MiniMax M3, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Gemma 4 26B A4B vs MiniMax M3 comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 22 September 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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