MiniMax M1 vs Qwen3.6 35B A3B
Qwen3.6 35B A3B leads MiniMax M1 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 18.2 to 11.7, and Qwen3.6 35B A3B costs 2.2x less per output token ($1.00 vs $2.20 per million). Updated October 23, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
MiniMax M1 or Qwen3.6 35B A3B: which to pick
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick MiniMax M1 for a larger context window (1M against 262K tokens) and work measured by AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
- Shared results
- 1
- MiniMax M1 only
- 28
- Qwen3.6 35B A3B only
- 19
- Like-for-like categories
- 1 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
No call
Neither has a coding score yet.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
Qwen3.6 35B A3B
Qwen3.6 35B A3B leads, 18.2 against 11.7.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B has a AA Agentic Index result, 13.1.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
MiniMax M1
MiniMax M1 takes 1M tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Qwen3.6 35B A3B
MiniMax M1 $0.0015, Qwen3.6 35B A3B $0.0006 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- MiniMax M1 not benchmarked, Qwen3.6 35B A3B not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 6.5 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: MiniMax M1 11.7 against Qwen3.6 35B A3B 18.2, 6.5 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- MiniMax M1 $2.20 against Qwen3.6 35B A3B $1.00 per million output tokens, 2.2x apart.
- Context window
- MiniMax M1 takes 1M tokens, Qwen3.6 35B A3B 262K.
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 | MiniMax M1 | Bars | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 0 | 1 | ||
| All shared boards | 0 | 1 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index7 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 41.9 | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| SciCode | Not measured | 36.6% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 34.8% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| Terminal-Bench | Not measured | 24.6% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| WeirdML | Not measured | 34.5% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1359 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1359 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 36 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 11.7 | 18.2 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | Not measured | 143.7 | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 13.1 | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 95.3% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index7 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 84.1% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 22.2% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | Not measured | 84.8% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| Mystery game puzzles | Not measured | 22.0% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1339 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1317 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1353 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| OTIS Mock AIME | Not measured | 86.7% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| FrontierMath, tiers 1 to 3 | Not measured | 20.4% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1361 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1363 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 10 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text: science | 1354 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1355 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1337 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1319 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
Web designNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 9 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index22 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | Not measured | 64.4% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 71.7% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| DTBench | Not measured | 73.9% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| LMCA | Not measured | 29.7% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| Surface Evolver Bench | Not measured | 44.4% | Only Qwen3.6 35B A3B measured |
| LMArena Text | 1343 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1312 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1297 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1363 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1319 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1360 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1350 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1218 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1266 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: French | 1370 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1353 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1329 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: Polish | 1329 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1335 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1326 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1311 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1303 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M1 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 26 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B | 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
Qwen3.6 35B A3B costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Qwen3.6 35B A3B costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Qwen3.6 35B A3B 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 M1 | Qwen3.6 35B A3B |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | Qwen |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | June 17, 2025 | April 27, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.40 | $0.10 |
| Output $/Mtok | $2.20 | $1.00 |
| 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 M1 better than Qwen3.6 35B A3B for coding?
Neither model has a coding score yet, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick MiniMax M1 for a larger context window (1M against 262K tokens) and work measured by AA Intelligence Index, where it leads.
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M1 or Qwen3.6 35B A3B?
MiniMax M1 costs $0.40 per million input tokens and $2.20 per million output tokens; Qwen3.6 35B A3B costs $0.10 and $1.00. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, MiniMax M1 or Qwen3.6 35B A3B?
MiniMax M1, with 1M tokens against 262K.
How many benchmarks is the MiniMax M1 vs Qwen3.6 35B A3B comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 23, 2026. MiniMax M1's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Qwen3.6 35B A3B's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.