MiniMax M3 is $4.7 cheaper per 1M input tokens (94% lower; 16.7x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
New🔥MiniMax M3 vs 🔥Claude Opus 4.6
Pick MiniMax M3 when budget and context both matter.
Page updated:
Data confirmed:
Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens
Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output
Budget verdict
Pick MiniMax M3 when budget and context both matter.
On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, MiniMax M3 is estimated at $0.9 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6, saving $16.6 (94.9% lower).
Cost-first pickMiniMax M3
Context-first pickMiniMax M3
Sample savings$16.694.9%
10x traffic gap$166
MiniMax M3 is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $166. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.
Cost sensitivity
Workload Sensitivity
MiniMax M3 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.
| Workload shape | Token mix | Better pick | MiniMax M3 | Claude Opus 4.6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | MiniMax M3 | $2.1 | $37.5 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | MiniMax M3 | $1.5 | $30 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | MiniMax M3 | $6.3 | $130 |
MiniMax M3 is $23.8 cheaper per 1M output tokens (95.2% lower; 20.8x difference).
MiniMax M3 has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).
MiniMax M3 is $16.6 cheaper on the standard workload (94.9% lower).
Estimate your workload cost
Your Workload Cost
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
MiniMax M3 has the lower input price; MiniMax M3 has the lower output price; MiniMax M3 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, MiniMax M3 is cheaper for the standard workload.
For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.9 for MiniMax M3 and $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6.
Choose MiniMax M3 when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.
Choose Claude Opus 4.6 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.
- On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, MiniMax M3 is estimated at $0.9 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6, saving $16.6 (94.9% lower).
- MiniMax M3 is $16.6 cheaper on the standard workload (94.9% lower).
- MiniMax M3 is $4.7 cheaper per 1M input tokens (94% lower; 16.7x difference).
- MiniMax M3 is $23.8 cheaper per 1M output tokens (95.2% lower; 20.8x difference).
- MiniMax M3 has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).
| Feature | New🔥MiniMax M3 (MiniMax) | 🔥Claude Opus 4.6 (Anthropic) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.3 | $5 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.2 | $25 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.9 | $17.5 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 1M |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #4 | #18 |
Use-Case Decision Matrix
| Use case | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Budget-constrained production | MiniMax M3 | On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, MiniMax M3 is estimated at $0.9 vs $17.5 for Claude Opus 4.6, saving $16.6 (94.9% lower). |
| High-volume input processing | MiniMax M3 | Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill. |
| Long responses and chatbots | MiniMax M3 | Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens. |
| RAG or long-document work | MiniMax M3 | A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files. |
Related Alternatives
- MiniMax M2.5 (free) can replace MiniMax M3 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
- MiniMax M2.5 can replace MiniMax M3 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.6.
- MiniMax M2.7 can replace MiniMax M3 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.75.
- MiniMax-01 can replace MiniMax M3 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.75.
- Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
- Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
- GPT-5.5 offers 1.05M context with $20 sample workload cost.
- DeepSeek V4 Flash · DeepSeek · #1
- Hy3 preview · Tencent · #2
- MiMo-V2.5 · Xiaomi · #3
- DeepSeek V4 Pro · DeepSeek · #5
Cheaper alternatives
Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.
Open cheapest modelsLarger context alternatives
Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.
Open largest context modelsProvider catalogs
Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.
Open provider hubsMiniMax catalog
Review all tracked MiniMax models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.
Open MiniMax modelsAnthropic catalog
Check other Anthropic models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.
Open Anthropic modelsMiniMax-M3 is a multimodal foundation model from MiniMax. It supports text, image, and video inputs with text output, a 1M-token context window, and is suited for long-horizon agentic work, coding,...
Opus 4.6 is Anthropic’s strongest model for coding and long-running professional tasks. It is built for agents that operate across entire workflows rather than single prompts, making it especially effective...