MiniMax M3 vs Qwen3.8 Flash: cost per task
Qwen3.8 Flash is cheaper on 9 of 14 tasks and about 1.2x cheaper on average (geometric mean).
| Task | MiniMax M3 | Qwen3.8 Flash | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answer a chat question | 0.12¢ | 0.08¢ | 1.5x |
| Reply to a customer email | 0.07¢ | 0.04¢ | 1.8x |
| Write a 1,500-word blog post | 0.27¢ | 0.75¢ | 2.8x |
| Write 10 product descriptions | 0.21¢ | 0.76¢ | 3.7x |
| Translate 1,000 words | 0.73¢ | 0.08¢ | 8.9x |
| Proofread one page (500 words) | 0.15¢ | 0.10¢ | 1.6x |
| Summarize a 20-page PDF | 0.47¢ | 0.32¢ | 1.5x |
| Extract data from an invoice | 0.12¢ | 0.11¢ | 1.1x |
| Analyze a 200-row spreadsheet | 2.1¢ | 0.85¢ | 2.4x |
| Answer from 5 retrieved documents (RAG) | 0.26¢ | 0.19¢ | 1.4x |
| Classify 100 support tickets | 0.27¢ | 0.42¢ | 1.5x |
| Review 500 lines of code | 0.45¢ | 0.83¢ | 1.8x |
| Write a SQL query | 0.09¢ | 0.13¢ | 1.4x |
| Run a 50-step coding agent | 18¢ | 9.2¢ | 2.0x |
Specs and list prices
| MiniMax M3 | Qwen3.8 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Input per 1M | $0.30 | $0.15 |
| Output per 1M | $1.20 | $0.47 |
| Cached input per 1M | $0.06 | $0.016 |
| Context | 1M | 1M |
| Providers | 14 | 2 |
| Reasoning | none | none |
| LMArena Text | 1441 | - |
| Released | May 31, 2026 | Aug 26, 2026 |
FAQ
Is MiniMax M3 or Qwen3.8 Flash cheaper?
Qwen3.8 Flash is cheaper on 9 of 14 tasks and about 1.2x cheaper on average (geometric mean).
How much does MiniMax M3 cost compared to Qwen3.8 Flash per token?
MiniMax M3: $0.30 input and $1.20 output per 1M tokens. Qwen3.8 Flash: $0.15 input and $0.47 output. Token prices alone mislead - models use different numbers of tokens for the same task, which is what the task table shows.