Gemini 3 Flash Preview vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads Gemini 3 Flash Preview on coding, 59.0 to 43.7 on the Vibe Coding Index, and MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs 5.0x less per output token ($0.60 vs $3.00 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 6 benchmarks have a result for both.
Gemini 3 Flash Preview or MiniMax M3.1 Flash: which to pick
Pick MiniMax M3.1 Flash for coding: it scores 59.0 on the Vibe Coding Index against 43.7 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview.
Pick Gemini 3 Flash Preview for a larger context window (1.05M against 1M tokens).
- Shared results
- 6
- Gemini 3 Flash Preview only
- 66
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash only
- 14
- Like-for-like categories
- 5 of 9
Only benchmarks that tested both models count toward a pick; a result only one model has is shown but not compared.
Which one for your work
Each card is decided by one number both models carry. Where only one has it, the card says so and makes no call.
Coding
Vibe Coding Index, six public coding benchmarks
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores 59.0 against 43.7.
2 and 4 benchmarks behind the scores
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads, 42.7 against 26.3.
Same board, both measured
Reasoning
GPQA Diamond
No call
Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview has a GPQA Diamond result, 87.9%.
Directional only
Math
AIME
No call
Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview has a AIME result, 95.6%.
Directional only
Knowledge
MMLU Pro
No call
Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview has a MMLU Pro result, 88.6%.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview has a Design Arena: websites result, 1196.
Directional only
General
Vals Index
No call
Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash has a Vals Index result, 53.8%.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Gemini 3 Flash Preview
Gemini 3 Flash Preview takes 1.05M tokens against 1M.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Gemini 3 Flash Preview $0.0020, MiniMax M3.1 Flash $0.0004 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview has the number, $0.37.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- Gemini 3 Flash Preview 43.7 from 2 benchmarks, MiniMax M3.1 Flash 59.0 from 4 benchmarks.
- Widest category
- Coding, 53.7 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI): Gemini 3 Flash Preview 20.2% against MiniMax M3.1 Flash 73.9%, 53.7 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- Gemini 3 Flash Preview $3.00 against MiniMax M3.1 Flash $0.60 per million output tokens, 5.0x apart.
- Context window
- Gemini 3 Flash Preview takes 1.05M tokens, MiniMax M3.1 Flash 1M.
Benchmark by benchmark
First the score: boards each model leads, per category, where both have a result. Then every board, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale, so compare the two in a row, not one row with another.
| Category | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | Bars | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 0 | 1 | ||
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| Agentic work | 0 | 2 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 1 | ||
| General | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 6 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index01
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench Verified | 75.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| LiveBench coding | Not measured | 83.9% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LMArena WebDev | Not measured | 1587 | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Vals AI) | 85.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI) | 75.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Terminal-Bench 4 (Vals AI) | Not measured | 25.3% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | 20.2% | 73.9% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Code migration (Vals AI) | 6.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| ProgramBench (Vals AI) | 0.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 (Vals AI) | 53.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 90.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 53.4% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 38.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Terminal-Bench | 64.3% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| GSO-Bench | 9.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| WeirdML | 61.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| ALE-Bench | 1367.2 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| LMArena WebDev: React | Not measured | 1609 | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | Not measured | 1529 | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| SciCode | 12.7% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 23 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 26.3 | 42.7 | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index02
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: agents building web apps | 1111 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Design Arena: agents building full-stack apps | 1063 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Design Arena: agents building mobile apps | 1090 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Design Arena: agents building Android apps | 1051 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Design Arena: agents building Godot games | 1161 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Design Arena: PowerPoint slides | 1036 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| LiveBench research | Not measured | 72.7% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LiveBench browser | Not measured | 92.0% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LiveBench long agentic | Not measured | 34.7% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Finance Agent (Vals AI) | 42.5% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI) | 11.8% | 32.1% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Legal Research Bench (Vals AI) | 18.3% | 34.1% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Harvey's Legal Agent Benchmark (Vals AI) | Not measured | 7.5% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Excel Modeling Benchmark (Vals AI) | 26.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 80.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| BALROG | 48.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| DeepResearch Bench | 49.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Vending-Bench 2 | $3,635 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| MCP Atlas | 62.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 23 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond | 87.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| LiveBench reasoning | Not measured | 82.9% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| MMMU Pro (Vals AI) | 87.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 89.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 36.6% | 48.0% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | 89.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| ARC-AGI | 84.7% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| ARC-AGI-2 | 33.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| SimpleBench | 61.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Chess puzzles | 39.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Mystery game puzzles | 26.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| VPCT | 72.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 11 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME | 95.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| MGSM (Vals AI) | 93.3% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| AA Math Index | 97.0 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 97.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| OTIS Mock AIME | 95.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| FrontierMath, tiers 1 to 3 | 51.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| FrontierMath, tier 4 | 17.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| ProofBench | 15.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index12 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro | 88.6% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| LegalBench (Vals AI) | 86.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| CaseLaw (Vals AI) | 55.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| CorpFin (Vals AI) | 66.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| TaxEval (Vals AI) | 73.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| MortgageTax (Vals AI) | 68.7% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| MedQA (Vals AI) | 95.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| MedCode (Vals AI) | 55.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 89.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| SimpleQA Verified | 66.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| GeoBench | 88.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| FACTS Benchmark Suite | 63.4% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 8 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1196 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1165 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 1183 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1189 | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| LiveBench design | Not measured | 74.0% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 4 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vals Index | Not measured | 53.8% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LiveBench data analysis | Not measured | 71.4% | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| SAGE (Vals AI) | 51.8% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| MedScribe (Vals AI) | 69.9% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Vals Multimodal Index | 52.2% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| IFBench | 78.0% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 78.0% | 79.7% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| DTBench | 89.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| LMCA | 43.1% | Not measured | Only Gemini 3 Flash Preview measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 39 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 5 boards here | |||
What each workload costs
Three fixed token mixes at each model's listed price, so per-token rates become a bill.
Chat turn
1K input + 500 output tokens
MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs less
Listed OpenRouter rates, without cache or batch discounts. A workload that does not fit a model's context window would need splitting.
Specification differences
The leading value in a row is marked; a row with a missing value names no leader. Our two rows are marked in red.
| Specification | Google Gemini 3 Flash Preview | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | |
| Weights | No public weights listed | No public weights listed |
| Released | December 17, 2025 | October 19, 2026 |
| Context window | 1.05M | 1M |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.50 | $0.15 |
| Output $/Mtok | $3.00 | $0.60 |
| Coding index | 43.7 | 59.0 |
| Independent measurements behind it | 2 | 4 |
| Cost per solved task | $0.37 | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is Gemini 3 Flash Preview better than MiniMax M3.1 Flash for coding?
Pick MiniMax M3.1 Flash for coding: it scores 59.0 on the Vibe Coding Index against 43.7 for Gemini 3 Flash Preview. Pick Gemini 3 Flash Preview for a larger context window (1.05M against 1M tokens).
Which is cheaper, Gemini 3 Flash Preview or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
Gemini 3 Flash Preview costs $0.50 per million input tokens and $3.00 per million output tokens; MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.15 and $0.60. Cost per solved task is known for Gemini 3 Flash Preview only.
Which has the bigger context window, Gemini 3 Flash Preview or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
Gemini 3 Flash Preview, with 1.05M tokens against 1M.
How many benchmarks is the Gemini 3 Flash Preview vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash comparison based on?
6 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. Gemini 3 Flash Preview's coding index rests on 2 independent benchmarks and MiniMax M3.1 Flash's on 4. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.