API cost decision in 10 seconds

MiniMax M2.5 vs Solar Pro 3

Pick Solar Pro 3 for lower cost; pick MiniMax M2.5 only if the larger context window matters more.

Pricing data updated: 2026-05-26T11:08:00Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Solar Pro 3 for lower cost; pick MiniMax M2.5 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $0.72 for MiniMax M2.5, saving $0.28 (37.9% lower).

Cost-first pickSolar Pro 3

Context-first pickMiniMax M2.5

Sample savings$0.2837.9%

10x traffic gap$2.75

MiniMax M2.5 has more context, but Solar Pro 3 saves $0.28 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $2.75. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Solar Pro 3 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	MiniMax M2.5	Solar Pro 3
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Solar Pro 3	$1.32	$1.05
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Solar Pro 3	$1.3	$0.75
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Solar Pro 3	$5.9	$3.15

Cheaper input Tie $0.15 vs $0.15 / 1M

Both models report the same input price at $0.15 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Solar Pro 3 $1.15 vs $0.6 / 1M

Solar Pro 3 is $0.55 cheaper per 1M output tokens (47.8% lower; 1.92x difference).

Larger context MiniMax M2.5 204.8K vs 128K

MiniMax M2.5 has 76.8K more context (1.6x larger).

Sample workload Solar Pro 3 $0.72 vs $0.45

Solar Pro 3 is $0.28 cheaper on the standard workload (37.9% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

MiniMax M2.5 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Solar Pro 3 Calculating… Estimated API cost

Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

both models tie on input price; Solar Pro 3 has the lower output price; MiniMax M2.5 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Solar Pro 3 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.72 for MiniMax M2.5 and $0.45 for Solar Pro 3.

Best Fit

Choose MiniMax M2.5 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Solar Pro 3 when you care most about lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $0.72 for MiniMax M2.5, saving $0.28 (37.9% lower).
Solar Pro 3 is $0.28 cheaper on the standard workload (37.9% lower).
Both models report the same input price at $0.15 per 1M tokens.
Solar Pro 3 is $0.55 cheaper per 1M output tokens (47.8% lower; 1.92x difference).
MiniMax M2.5 has 76.8K more context (1.6x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	MiniMax M2.5 (MiniMax)	Solar Pro 3 (Upstage)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$0.15	$0.15
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$1.15	$0.6
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$0.72	$0.45
Context Window	204.8K	128K
Release Date	2026-02-12	2026-01-27

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Solar Pro 3	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Solar Pro 3 is estimated at $0.45 vs $0.72 for MiniMax M2.5, saving $0.28 (37.9% lower).
High-volume input processing	Tie	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Solar Pro 3	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	MiniMax M2.5	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

MiniMax M2.5 (free) can replace MiniMax M2.5 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.

Larger context near this budget

Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Pro offers 1.05M context with $0.87 sample workload cost.
DeepSeek V4 Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.2 sample workload cost.

Popular competitors

No popular competitor is currently available.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

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Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

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Provider catalogs

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MiniMax catalog

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Upstage catalog

Check other Upstage models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

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MiniMax-M2.5 is a SOTA large language model designed for real-world productivity. Trained in a diverse range of complex real-world digital working environments, M2.5 builds upon the coding expertise of M2.1...

Solar Pro 3

Solar Pro 3 is Upstage's powerful Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) language model. With 102B total parameters and 12B active parameters per forward pass, it delivers exceptional performance while maintaining computational efficiency. Optimized...