MiniMax M2.1 vs Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20
MiniMax M2.1 costs 1.5x less per output token than Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 ($1.20 vs $1.80 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 10 benchmarks have a result for both.
MiniMax M2.1 or Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20: which to pick
Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 has a coding score, 39.5 on the Vibe Coding Index; MiniMax M2.1 has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick MiniMax M2.1 for output tokens 1.5x cheaper ($1.20 vs $1.80 per million) and a lower cost per solved task ($0.59 against $1.35).
- Shared results
- 10
- MiniMax M2.1 only
- 24
- Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 only
- 15
- Like-for-like categories
- 4 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
Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
No call
Only MiniMax M2.1 has a AA Intelligence Index result, 20.9.
Directional only
Reasoning
GPQA Diamond
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 leads, 87.4% against 78.5%.
Same board, both measured
Math
AIME
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 leads, 86.0% against 77.9%.
Same board, both measured
Knowledge
MMLU Pro
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 leads, 87.2% against 87.0%.
Same board, both measured
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only MiniMax M2.1 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1201.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 takes 1M tokens against 205K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
MiniMax M2.1
MiniMax M2.1 $0.0009, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 $0.0012 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
MiniMax M2.1
MiniMax M2.1 $0.59, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 $1.35.
Published attempt cost and pass rate
At a glance
- Coding index
- MiniMax M2.1 not benchmarked, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 39.5 from 2 benchmarks.
- Widest category
- Reasoning, 8.8 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- LegalBench (Vals AI): MiniMax M2.1 75.5% against Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 85.1%, 9.6 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- MiniMax M2.1 $1.20 against Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 $1.80 per million output tokens, 1.5x apart.
- Context window
- MiniMax M2.1 takes 205K tokens, Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 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 | MiniMax M2.1 | Bars | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 2 | 1 | ||
| Reasoning | 0 | 1 | ||
| Math | 0 | 1 | ||
| Knowledge | 0 | 5 | ||
| All shared boards | 2 | 8 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index21
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench (Vals AI) | 81.8% | 85.3% | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 |
| SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI) | 74.8% | 71.2% | MiniMax M2.1 |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 15.7% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Artificial Analysis run) | 81.0% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 28.8% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Terminal-Bench | 36.6% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| ALE-Bench | 623.8 | 608.9 | MiniMax M2.1 |
| Neither model has a result on the other 36 boards here | |||
IntelligenceDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 20.9 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | Not measured | 146.2 | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 85.4% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Vending-Bench 2 | Not measured | $1 | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond | 78.5% | 87.4% | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 |
| MMMU Pro (Vals AI) | Not measured | 22.8% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 83.0% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 23.2% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Epoch AI run) | Not measured | 84.8% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| Chess puzzles | Not measured | 8.0% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| Mystery game puzzles | Not measured | 17.0% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 16 boards here | |||
MathLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index01
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME | 77.9% | 86.0% | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 |
| MATH 500 (Vals AI) | 89.0% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| MGSM (Vals AI) | 87.8% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| AA Math Index | 82.7 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| AIME 2025 (Artificial Analysis run) | 82.7% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| OTIS Mock AIME | Not measured | 86.7% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 8 boards here | |||
KnowledgeLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index05
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro | 87.0% | 87.2% | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 |
| LegalBench (Vals AI) | 75.5% | 85.1% | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 |
| CaseLaw (Vals AI) | 55.8% | 59.7% | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 |
| CorpFin (Vals AI) | 58.9% | 65.3% | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 |
| TaxEval (Vals AI) | 66.3% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| MortgageTax (Vals AI) | Not measured | 60.8% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| MedQA (Vals AI) | 91.2% | 95.2% | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 |
| MedCode (Vals AI) | 34.1% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| MMLU Pro (Artificial Analysis run) | 87.5% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| SimpleQA Verified | Not measured | 25.4% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 10 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index7 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1201 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1220 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1134 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1206 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 1164 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1190 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | 1131 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 2 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index8 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAGE (Vals AI) | Not measured | 30.4% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| MedScribe (Vals AI) | 80.8% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| IFBench | 69.9% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 67.7% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.1 measured |
| DTBench | Not measured | 80.5% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| LMCA | Not measured | 36.4% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| CL-bench | Not measured | 19.8% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| CL-bench Life | Not measured | 12.4% | Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 | 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 M2.1 costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
MiniMax M2.1 costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
MiniMax M2.1 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 M2.1 | Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | Qwen |
| Weights | Open weights | No public weights listed |
| Released | December 23, 2025 | April 27, 2026 |
| Context window | 205K | 1M |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.30 | $0.30 |
| Output $/Mtok | $1.20 | $1.80 |
| Coding index | Not benchmarked | 39.5 |
| Independent measurements behind it | 1 | 2 |
| Cost per solved task | $0.59 | $1.35 |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is MiniMax M2.1 better than Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 for coding?
Only Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 has a coding score, 39.5 on the Vibe Coding Index; MiniMax M2.1 has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick MiniMax M2.1 for output tokens 1.5x cheaper ($1.20 vs $1.80 per million) and a lower cost per solved task ($0.59 against $1.35).
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M2.1 or Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20?
MiniMax M2.1 costs $0.30 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens; Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 costs $0.30 and $1.80. Per solved SWE-bench Verified task, MiniMax M2.1 costs $0.59 and Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 $1.35.
Which has the bigger context window, MiniMax M2.1 or Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20?
Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20, with 1M tokens against 205K.
How many benchmarks is the MiniMax M2.1 vs Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20 comparison based on?
10 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. MiniMax M2.1's coding index rests on 1 independent benchmark and Qwen3.5 Plus 2026-04-20's on 2. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.