MiniMax M3 is $1.45 cheaper per 1M input tokens (82.9% lower; 5.83x difference).
API cost decision in 10 seconds
New🔥MiniMax M3 vs GPT-5.2 Chat
Pick MiniMax M3 when budget and context both matter.
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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 $8.75 for GPT-5.2 Chat, saving $7.85 (89.7% lower).
Cost-first pickMiniMax M3
Context-first pickMiniMax M3
Sample savings$7.8589.7%
10x traffic gap$78.5
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 $78.5. 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 | GPT-5.2 Chat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Input-heavy / RAG | 5M input + 500K output | MiniMax M3 | $2.1 | $15.75 |
| Balanced workload | 1M input + 1M output | MiniMax M3 | $1.5 | $15.75 |
| Output-heavy chatbot | 1M input + 5M output | MiniMax M3 | $6.3 | $71.75 |
MiniMax M3 is $12.8 cheaper per 1M output tokens (91.4% lower; 11.7x difference).
MiniMax M3 has 920.58K more context (8.19x larger).
MiniMax M3 is $7.85 cheaper on the standard workload (89.7% 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 $8.75 for GPT-5.2 Chat.
Choose MiniMax M3 when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.
Choose GPT-5.2 Chat 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 $8.75 for GPT-5.2 Chat, saving $7.85 (89.7% lower).
- MiniMax M3 is $7.85 cheaper on the standard workload (89.7% lower).
- MiniMax M3 is $1.45 cheaper per 1M input tokens (82.9% lower; 5.83x difference).
- MiniMax M3 is $12.8 cheaper per 1M output tokens (91.4% lower; 11.7x difference).
- MiniMax M3 has 920.58K more context (8.19x larger).
| Feature | New🔥MiniMax M3 (MiniMax) | GPT-5.2 Chat (OpenAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Input Price prompt tokens per 1M | $0.3 | $1.75 |
| Completion Price per 1M tokens | $1.2 | $14 |
| Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output | $0.9 | $8.75 |
| Context Window | 1.05M | 128K |
| Release Date | ||
| Popularity | #4 | #146 |
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 $8.75 for GPT-5.2 Chat, saving $7.85 (89.7% 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-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.
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