API cost decision in 10 seconds

New🔥MiniMax M3 vs NewGrok Build 0.1

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 $2 for Grok Build 0.1, saving $1.1 (55% lower).

Cost-first pickMiniMax M3
Context-first pickMiniMax M3
Sample savings$1.155%
10x traffic gap$11

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 $11. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

MiniMax M3 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickMiniMax M3Grok Build 0.1
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputMiniMax M3$2.1$6
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputMiniMax M3$1.5$3
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputMiniMax M3$6.3$11
Cheaper input MiniMax M3 $0.3 vs $1 / 1M

MiniMax M3 is $0.7 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).

Cheaper output MiniMax M3 $1.2 vs $2 / 1M

MiniMax M3 is $0.8 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).

Larger context MiniMax M3 1.05M vs 256K

MiniMax M3 has 792.58K more context (4.1x larger).

Sample workload MiniMax M3 $0.9 vs $2

MiniMax M3 is $1.1 cheaper on the standard workload (55% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
MiniMax M3 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Grok Build 0.1 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

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 $2 for Grok Build 0.1.

Best Fit

Choose MiniMax M3 when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Choose Grok Build 0.1 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, MiniMax M3 is estimated at $0.9 vs $2 for Grok Build 0.1, saving $1.1 (55% lower).
  • MiniMax M3 is $1.1 cheaper on the standard workload (55% lower).
  • MiniMax M3 is $0.7 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).
  • MiniMax M3 is $0.8 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
  • MiniMax M3 has 792.58K more context (4.1x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureNew🔥MiniMax M3
(MiniMax)
NewGrok Build 0.1
(xAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.3$1
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$1.2$2
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$0.9$2
Context Window1.05M256K
Release Date
Popularity#4#137

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionMiniMax M3On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, MiniMax M3 is estimated at $0.9 vs $2 for Grok Build 0.1, saving $1.1 (55% lower).
High-volume input processingMiniMax M3Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsMiniMax M3Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workMiniMax M3A 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 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.
Larger context near this budget
  • Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
  • Owl Alpha offers 1.05M context with $0 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

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

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

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

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

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MiniMax catalog

Review all tracked MiniMax models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

Open MiniMax models

xAI catalog

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

Open xAI models
MiniMax M3

MiniMax-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,...

Grok Build 0.1

Grok Build 0.1 is xAI’s fast coding model trained specifically for agentic software engineering workflows. It supports text and image inputs with text output, and is optimized for interactive coding...