MiniMax M2.5 vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
MiniMax M2.5 leads Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 22.8 to 9.5, and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking costs 1.2x less per output token ($1.00 vs $1.20 per million). Updated October 23, 2026; 1 benchmarks have a result for both.
MiniMax M2.5 or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking: which to pick
Only MiniMax M2.5 has a coding score, 37.2 on the Vibe Coding Index; Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding.
Pick Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking for output tokens 1.2x cheaper ($1.00 vs $1.20 per million) and a larger context window (262K against 205K tokens).
- Shared results
- 1
- MiniMax M2.5 only
- 70
- Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking only
- 0
- 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
Only MiniMax M2.5 has a coding score, so no call is made.
One side not measured
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
MiniMax M2.5
MiniMax M2.5 leads, 22.8 against 9.5.
Same board, both measured
Reasoning
GPQA Diamond
No call
Only MiniMax M2.5 has a GPQA Diamond result, 82.1%.
Directional only
Math
AIME
No call
Only MiniMax M2.5 has a AIME result, 88.8%.
Directional only
Knowledge
MMLU Pro
No call
Only MiniMax M2.5 has a MMLU Pro result, 80.1%.
Directional only
Web design
Design Arena: websites
No call
Only MiniMax M2.5 has a Design Arena: websites result, 1222.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking takes 262K tokens against 205K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking
MiniMax M2.5 $0.0009, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking $0.0008 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only MiniMax M2.5 has the number, $0.62.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- MiniMax M2.5 37.2 from 3 benchmarks, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking not benchmarked.
- Widest category
- Intelligence, 13.3 points apart on average over 1 shared benchmark.
- Widest single gap
- AA Intelligence Index: MiniMax M2.5 22.8 against Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking 9.5, 13.3 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- MiniMax M2.5 $1.20 against Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking $1.00 per million output tokens, 1.2x apart.
- Context window
- MiniMax M2.5 takes 205K tokens, Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking 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 M2.5 | Bars | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 1 | 0 |
CodingDirectional onlySix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index16 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| SWE-bench Verified | 75.8% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| SWE-bench Multilingual | 68.3% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena WebDev | 1386 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LiveCodeBench (Vals AI) | 79.2% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI) | 74.2% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | 14.8% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Terminal-Bench Hard (Artificial Analysis run) | 34.8% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Terminal-Bench | 42.7% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| ALE-Bench | 618.2 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: coding | 1380 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: software and IT | 1383 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena WebDev: React | 1374 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | 1414 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| SWE Atlas: Codebase QnA | 10.3% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| SWE Atlas: Refactoring | 19.5% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| SWE Atlas: Test Writing | 18.6% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 27 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 22.8 | 9.5 | MiniMax M2.5 |
| Epoch Capabilities Index | 146.6 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
Agentic workDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index2 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-Bench Telecom | 95.3% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Vending-Bench 2 | -$23 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 40 boards here | |||
ReasoningDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index9 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| GPQA Diamond | 82.1% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | 84.8% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 20.5% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| ARC-AGI | 63.7% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| ARC-AGI-2 | 4.9% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts | 1372 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: expert | 1379 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: hard prompts in English | 1384 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 55.2% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 14 boards here | |||
MathDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index4 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIME | 88.8% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| ProofBench | 4.0% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: math | 1378 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: mathematical work | 1378 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 10 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU Pro | 80.1% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LegalBench (Vals AI) | 80.0% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| CaseLaw (Vals AI) | 53.5% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| CorpFin (Vals AI) | 59.6% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| TaxEval (Vals AI) | 68.2% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| MedQA (Vals AI) | 92.5% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: science | 1369 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: medicine and healthcare | 1357 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: legal and government | 1366 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: business and finance | 1356 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 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 M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena: websites | 1222 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Design Arena: UI components | 1170 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Design Arena: game dev | 1176 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Design Arena: data viz | 1172 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Design Arena: 3D | 1170 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Design Arena: all code categories | 1207 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Design Arena: SVG | 1150 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 2 boards here | |||
GeneralDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index21 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFBench | 71.6% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 73.3% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| CL-bench | 11.4% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| CL-bench Life | 6.3% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text | 1359 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: instruction following | 1353 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: creative writing | 1331 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: English | 1380 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: non-English | 1338 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: Chinese | 1393 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: German | 1361 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: Japanese | 1171 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: Korean | 1233 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: French | 1363 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: Spanish | 1353 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: Russian | 1359 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: Polish | 1334 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: multi-turn | 1364 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: longer queries | 1366 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: writing and language | 1345 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 measured |
| LMArena Text: entertainment and media | 1329 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M2.5 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 M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking | 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 VL 30B A3B Thinking costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking 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 M2.5 | Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | Qwen |
| Weights | Open weights | Open weights |
| Released | February 12, 2026 | October 6, 2025 |
| Context window | 205K | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.30 | $0.29 |
| Output $/Mtok | $1.20 | $1.00 |
| Coding index | 37.2 | Not benchmarked |
| Independent measurements behind it | 3 | 0 |
| Cost per solved task | $0.62 | Not computable |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is MiniMax M2.5 better than Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking for coding?
Only MiniMax M2.5 has a coding score, 37.2 on the Vibe Coding Index; Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking has none, so the two cannot be ranked on coding. Pick Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking for output tokens 1.2x cheaper ($1.00 vs $1.20 per million) and a larger context window (262K against 205K tokens).
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M2.5 or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?
MiniMax M2.5 costs $0.30 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens; Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking costs $0.29 and $1.00. Cost per solved task is known for MiniMax M2.5 only.
Which has the bigger context window, MiniMax M2.5 or Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking?
Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking, with 262K tokens against 205K.
How many benchmarks is the MiniMax M2.5 vs Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking comparison based on?
1 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 23, 2026. MiniMax M2.5's coding index rests on 3 independent benchmarks and Qwen3 VL 30B A3B Thinking's on 0. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.