MiniMax M1 vs Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
MiniMax M1 leads Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 11.7 to 9.6, and Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs 5.0x less per output token ($0.44 vs $2.20 per million). Updated October 21, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
MiniMax M1 or Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct: 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).
- Shared results
- 1
- MiniMax M1 only
- 28
- Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct only
- 15
- 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
MiniMax M1
MiniMax M1 leads, 11.7 against 9.6.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct has a Design Arena: websites result, 1087.
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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct
MiniMax M1 $0.0015, Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct $0.0003 per turn.
List prices
At a glance
- Coding index
- MiniMax M1 not benchmarked, Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 2.1 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: MiniMax M1 11.7 against Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 9.6, 2.1 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- MiniMax M1 $2.20 against Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct $0.44 per million output tokens, 5.0x apart.
- Context window
- MiniMax M1 takes 1M tokens, Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 0 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index6 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench Verified | Not measured | 60.4% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| SWE-bench Lite | Not measured | 49.7% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 40.3% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 15.2% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 33 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 11.7 | 9.6 | MiniMax M1 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | Not measured | 34.5% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 51.6% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 3.8% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 17 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Math Index | Not measured | 29.0 | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 29.0% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 9 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index5 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 70.6% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| 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 13 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index3 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | Not measured | 1087 | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | Not measured | 1046 | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | Not measured | 1085 | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 6 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index19 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | Not measured | 32.7% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | Not measured | 32.7% | Only Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 | 1217 | 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 27 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct | 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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | Qwen |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | June 17, 2025 | July 31, 2025 |
| Context window | 1M | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.40 | $0.11 |
| Output $/Mtok | $2.20 | $0.44 |
| 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 Coder 30B A3B Instruct 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).
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M1 or Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct?
MiniMax M1 costs $0.40 per million input tokens and $2.20 per million output tokens; Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct costs $0.11 and $0.44. Cost per solved task is known for neither of them.
Which has the bigger context window, MiniMax M1 or Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct?
MiniMax M1, with 1M tokens against 262K.
How many benchmarks is the MiniMax M1 vs Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 21, 2026. MiniMax M1's coding index rests on 0 independent benchmarks and Qwen3 Coder 30B A3B Instruct's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.