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Head-to-head comparison

MiniMax M3 vs Qwen3.8 Flash

MiniMax M3 (MiniMax) and Qwen3.8 Flash (Qwen) 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 3 September 2026

As of 3 September 2026, Qwen3.8 Flash holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#17 vs #25); and Qwen3.8 Flash is 2.6× cheaper per output token ($0.47/1M vs $1.20/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose MiniMax M3 if…

  • you want provider choice — 11 listed API providers against 1.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 39.0% against 38.0%.

Choose Qwen3.8 Flash if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #17 against #25 (72.1 vs 65.3 points).
  • API cost matters — $0.47/1M output tokens against $1.20/1M, about 2.6× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.15/1M against $0.30/1M.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 55.8 against 45.4.
  • AA Terminal-Bench 2.1 is your yardstick — 86.1% against 65.2%.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.8 Flash was listed 26 August 2026, MiniMax M3 31 May 2026.

MiniMax M3 vs Qwen3.8 Flash: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.8 Flash
FieldMiniMax M3MiniMaxQwen3.8 FlashQwen
ModelCap Index position#25#17
Index score65.372.1
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.30$0.15
Output price / 1M tokens$1.20$0.47
Context window1M tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens512K131K
API providers listed111
Weight accessRestricted licenseRestricted license
Input modalitiesText, Image, VideoText, Image, Video
First listed31 May 202626 August 2026
PublisherMiniMaxQwen

Evidence: 4 public benchmark observations across 4 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: MiniMax M3 vs Qwen3.8 Flash

Public benchmark boards where MiniMax M3 or Qwen3.8 Flash has a published result
BoardMiniMax M3Qwen3.8 FlashLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14981491–1504—Only one result
LMArena AgentLMArena-3.6%-4.5%–-2.7%—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis45.4intelligence-index55.8intelligence-indexQwen3.8 Flash
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Artificial Analysis65.2%terminal-bench-2.186.1%terminal-bench-2.1Qwen3.8 Flash
AA τ²-Bench TelecomArtificial Analysis88.9%tau2-bench-telecom—Only one result
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis39.0%humanitys-last-exam38.0%humanitys-last-examMiniMax 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 Qwen3.8 Flash: common questions

Is MiniMax M3 better than Qwen3.8 Flash?

Qwen3.8 Flash ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 3 September 2026: #17 against #25. 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 MiniMax M3 cheaper than Qwen3.8 Flash?

Qwen3.8 Flash is cheaper on output tokens: $0.47/1M against $1.20/1M. Input tokens are $0.30/1M for MiniMax M3 and $0.15/1M for Qwen3.8 Flash. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, MiniMax M3 or Qwen3.8 Flash?

Both publish a 1M-token context window.

Which is better for coding, MiniMax M3 or Qwen3.8 Flash?

AA Terminal-Bench 2.1: MiniMax M3 65.2%, Qwen3.8 Flash 86.1% — Qwen3.8 Flash leads.

Are MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.8 Flash open-weight models?

MiniMax M3: Restricted license. Qwen3.8 Flash: 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 MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.8 Flash?

ModelCap currently lists 11 API providers for MiniMax M3 and 1 for Qwen3.8 Flash, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this MiniMax M3 vs Qwen3.8 Flash comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 3 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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