Skip to content
ModelCap

Head-to-head comparison

MiniMax M3 vs GPT-5.4 Mini

MiniMax M3 (MiniMax) and GPT-5.4 Mini (OpenAI) 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, GPT-5.4 Mini holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#34 vs #37); MiniMax M3 is 3.8× cheaper per output token ($1.20/1M vs $4.50/1M); and MiniMax M3 offers the longer context window (1M vs 400K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose MiniMax M3 if…

  • API cost matters — $1.20/1M output tokens against $4.50/1M, about 3.8× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.30/1M against $0.75/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 400K.
  • you want provider choice — 13 listed API providers against 2.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1496 against 1496.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 29.2 against 24.1.
  • AA τ²-Bench Telecom is your yardstick — 88.9% against 83.3%.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 39.0% against 28.1%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — MiniMax M3 was listed 31 May 2026, GPT-5.4 Mini 17 March 2026.

Choose GPT-5.4 Mini if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #34 against #37 (71.9 vs 70.8 points).

MiniMax M3 vs GPT-5.4 Mini: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of MiniMax M3 and GPT-5.4 Mini
FieldMiniMax M3MiniMaxGPT-5.4 MiniOpenAI
ModelCap Index position#37#34
Index score70.871.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.30$0.75
Output price / 1M tokens$1.20$4.50
Context window1M tokens400K tokens
Max output tokens512K128K
API providers listed132
Weight accessRestricted licenseAPI only
Input modalitiesText, Image, VideoFile, Image, Text
First listed31 May 202617 March 2026
PublisherMiniMaxOpenAI

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 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: MiniMax M3 vs GPT-5.4 Mini

Public benchmark boards where MiniMax M3 or GPT-5.4 Mini has a published result
BoardMiniMax M3GPT-5.4 MiniLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14961490–150314961490–1502HighMiniMax M3
LMArena AgentLMArena-5.8%-6.6%–-4.9%—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—18.9%X-HighOnly one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis29.2intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecified24.1intelligence-index:v4.3:xhighMiniMax M3
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis88.9%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="MiniMax-M3":reasoning=true83.3%tau2:telecom:dual-control:pass-at-1:3-repeats:source-model="GPT-5.4 mini (xhigh)":reasoning=trueMiniMax M3
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis39.0%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="MiniMax-M3":reasoning=true28.1%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="GPT-5.4 mini (xhigh)":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.

MiniMax M3 vs GPT-5.4 Mini: common questions

Is MiniMax M3 better than GPT-5.4 Mini?

GPT-5.4 Mini ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 22 September 2026: #34 against #37. 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 MiniMax M3 cheaper than GPT-5.4 Mini?

MiniMax M3 is cheaper on output tokens: $1.20/1M against $4.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.30/1M for MiniMax M3 and $0.75/1M for GPT-5.4 Mini. 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 $1.20 for MiniMax M3 versus $3.75 for GPT-5.4 Mini. MiniMax M3 costs 68.0% 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, MiniMax M3 or GPT-5.4 Mini?

MiniMax M3 has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 400K.

Which is better for coding, MiniMax M3 or GPT-5.4 Mini?

Arena coding: MiniMax M3 1496, GPT-5.4 Mini 1496 — MiniMax M3 leads.

Are MiniMax M3 and GPT-5.4 Mini open-weight models?

MiniMax M3: Restricted license. GPT-5.4 Mini: API only. 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 MiniMax M3 and GPT-5.4 Mini?

ModelCap currently lists 13 API providers for MiniMax M3 and 2 for GPT-5.4 Mini, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this MiniMax M3 vs GPT-5.4 Mini 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.

Explore further