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Model comparison

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite vs MiniMax M3

GoogleGemini 3.5 Flash-Lite
Input
$0.30
Output
$2.50
Context
1M
Released
2026-07-21
Full model page →MiniMaxMiniMax M3
Input
$0.60
Output
$2.40
Context
1M
Released
2026-06-01
Full model page →
Short answer

MiniMax M3 scores higher on 2 of the 2 benchmarks both models report; Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is cheaper on input tokens ($0.3 vs $0.6 per 1M, 2×); MiniMax M3 ships open weights while Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is API-only.

Specs and pricing side by side

SpecGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteMiniMax M3
MakerGoogleMiniMax
Released2026-07-212026-06-01
Context window1M1Msame
Max output64Knot published
Input price$0.30$0.60
Output price$2.50$2.40
ParametersNot disclosed~428B total / ~23B active
LicenseProprietaryMiniMax Community License
WeightsAPI onlyOpen weights
ModalitiesText, Vision, Audio, Video, PDFText, Vision, Video
Knowledge cutoffMarch 2026not published

Benchmarks both models report

BenchmarkGemini 3.5 Flash-LiteMiniMax M3
SWE-Bench Pro54.2%59%
Terminal-Bench 2.154%66%

Scores are as published by each maker or its cited source; harness, reasoning effort and date can differ between rows, so treat small gaps as ties. Sources are listed on each model page.

Which one should you pick?

Pick Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite if…

  • Cost matters: input tokens cost 2× less ($0.3 vs $0.6 per 1M).
  • You need Audio / PDF input, which MiniMax M3 lacks.
  • Your use case is: reach for it as the default cheap tier for high-volume translation, classification, and tagging.

Pick MiniMax M3 if…

  • You care about SWE-Bench Pro, Terminal-Bench 2.1 (it scores higher on 2 shared benchmarks).
  • You want to self-host or fine-tune (open weights, MiniMax Community License).
  • Your use case is: long-horizon agentic coding and software engineering.

FAQ

Which is better, Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite or MiniMax M3?

MiniMax M3 scores higher on 2 of the 2 benchmarks both models report; Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is cheaper on input tokens ($0.3 vs $0.6 per 1M, 2×); MiniMax M3 ships open weights while Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is API-only. The better pick depends on whether you value benchmark scores, price per token, context length or openness for your workload.

How much cheaper is Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite: $0.30 input, $2.50 output. MiniMax M3: $0.60 input, $2.40 output (list API prices as published by each maker).

What are the context windows of Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite and MiniMax M3?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite offers 1M with up to 64K output; MiniMax M3 offers 1M.

Is Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite newer than MiniMax M3?

Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite was released 2026-07-21; MiniMax M3 was released 2026-06-01.

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