MiniMax-01 vs Ministral 3 8B 2512
Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs 7.3x less per output token than MiniMax-01 ($0.15 vs $1.10 per million). Updated October 23, 2026; no benchmark has tested both models yet.
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $1.10
- Coding
- No data
- Overall
- No data
- Output $/M
- $0.15
MiniMax-01 or Ministral 3 8B 2512: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick MiniMax-01 for a larger context window (1M against 262K tokens).
No benchmark has tested both yet. MiniMax-01 has results on Kagi LLM Benchmark; Ministral 3 8B 2512 on AA Coding Index, AA Intelligence Index and AA Agentic Index. Compare them on price and context instead.
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
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
No call
Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 has a AA Intelligence Index result, 5.5.
Directional only
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 has a AA Agentic Index result, 0.6.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1065.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
MiniMax-01
MiniMax-01 takes 1M tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Ministral 3 8B 2512
MiniMax-01 $0.0008, Ministral 3 8B 2512 $0.0002 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- MiniMax-01 not benchmarked, Ministral 3 8B 2512 not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- None yet: no category has been tested on both models.
- Widest single gap
- None yet: no benchmark has tested both models.
- Output price
- MiniMax-01 $1.10 against Ministral 3 8B 2512 $0.15 per million output tokens, 7.3x apart.
- Context window
- MiniMax-01 takes 1M tokens, Ministral 3 8B 2512 262K.
Benchmark by benchmark
Every board either model has a result on, a category to a fold; bars are each result on a 0 to 100 scale. Only one model is measured on each, so no row names a leader.
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index1 board measured
| Benchmark | MiniMax-01 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 9.7 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 42 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | MiniMax-01 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | Not measured | 5.5 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | MiniMax-01 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 0.6 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 41 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board measured
| Benchmark | MiniMax-01 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 42.5% | Not measured | Only MiniMax-01 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 22 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards measured
| Benchmark | MiniMax-01 | Ministral 3 8B 2512 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1065 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | Not measured | 990 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | Not measured | 1032 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | Not measured | 1052 | Only Ministral 3 8B 2512 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 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
Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Ministral 3 8B 2512 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 | MiniMax-01 | Mistral Ministral 3 8B 2512 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | Mistral AI |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | January 15, 2025 | December 2, 2025 |
| Context window | 1M | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.20 | $0.15 |
| Output $/Mtok | $1.10 | $0.15 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 0 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is MiniMax-01 better than Ministral 3 8B 2512 for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick MiniMax-01 for a larger context window (1M against 262K tokens).
Which is cheaper, MiniMax-01 or Ministral 3 8B 2512?
MiniMax-01 costs $0.20 per million input tokens and $1.10 per million output tokens; Ministral 3 8B 2512 costs $0.15 and $0.15. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, MiniMax-01 or Ministral 3 8B 2512?
MiniMax-01, with 1M tokens against 262K.
Has any benchmark tested both MiniMax-01 and Ministral 3 8B 2512?
No benchmark has tested both yet. MiniMax-01 has results on Kagi LLM Benchmark; Ministral 3 8B 2512 on AA Coding Index, AA Intelligence Index and AA Agentic Index. Compare them on price and context instead. Data as of October 23, 2026.