MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads Nemotron 3.5 Lightning on coding, 59.0 to 22.6 on the Vibe Coding Index, and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs 4.1x less per output token ($0.147 vs $0.60 per million). Updated October 22, 2026; 7 benchmarks have a result for both.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning: which to pick
Pick MiniMax M3.1 Flash for coding: it scores 59.0 on the Vibe Coding Index against 22.6 for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning.
Pick Nemotron 3.5 Lightning for output tokens 4.1x cheaper ($0.147 vs $0.60 per million).
- Shared results
- 7
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash only
- 13
- Nemotron 3.5 Lightning only
- 13
- Like-for-like categories
- 5 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
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores 59.0 against 22.6.
4 and 2 benchmarks behind the scores
Intelligence
AA Intelligence Index
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads, 42.7 against 12.9.
Same board, both measured
Agentic work
AA Agentic Index
No call
Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has a AA Agentic Index result, 3.5.
Directional only
General
Vals Index
No call
Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash has a Vals Index result, 53.8%.
Directional only
Long documents
Listed context window
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash takes 1M tokens against 262K.
Listed by OpenRouter
Everyday cost
1K input + 500 output tokens
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning
MiniMax M3.1 Flash $0.0004, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning $0.0001 per turn.
List prices
Cost per solved task
One SWE-bench Verified task, solved
No call
Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has the number, $0.06.
Directional only
At a glance
- Coding index
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash 59.0 from 4 benchmarks, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 22.6 from 2 benchmarks.
- Widest category
- Coding, 47.6 points apart on average over 2 shared benchmarks.
- Widest single gap
- Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI): MiniMax M3.1 Flash 73.9% against Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 0.0%, 73.9 points apart on a 0 to 100 scale.
- Output price
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash $0.60 against Nemotron 3.5 Lightning $0.147 per million output tokens, 4.1x apart.
- Context window
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash takes 1M tokens, Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 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 M3.1 Flash | Bars | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Ties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coding | 2 | 0 | ||
| Intelligence | 1 | 0 | ||
| Agentic work | 2 | 0 | ||
| Reasoning | 1 | 0 | ||
| General | 1 | 0 | ||
| All shared boards | 7 | 0 |
CodingLike-for-likeSix of these boards feed the Vibe Coding Index20
| Benchmark | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveBench coding | 83.9% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LMArena WebDev | 1587 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| AA Coding Index | Not measured | 26.8 | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| SWE-bench Verified (Vals AI) | Not measured | 52.8% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Terminal-Bench 4 (Vals AI) | 25.3% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Vibe Code Bench (Vals AI) | 73.9% | 0.0% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Code migration (Vals AI) | Not measured | 3.0% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| ProgramBench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 0.0% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Terminal-Bench 2.1 (Vals AI) | Not measured | 10.9% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| CyberBench (Vals AI) | Not measured | 29.5% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| SciCode | 53.4% | 32.1% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| ALE-Bench | Not measured | 769.2 | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| LMArena WebDev: React | 1609 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LMArena WebDev: HTML | 1529 | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 29 boards here | |||
IntelligenceLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Intelligence Index | 42.7 | 12.9 | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 1 board here | |||
Agentic workLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index20
| Benchmark | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA Agentic Index | Not measured | 3.5 | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| LiveBench research | 72.7% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LiveBench browser | 92.0% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LiveBench long agentic | 34.7% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Finance Agent (Vals AI) | Not measured | 18.5% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Tax Agent Bench (Vals AI) | 32.1% | 2.6% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Legal Research Bench (Vals AI) | 34.1% | 2.9% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Harvey's Legal Agent Benchmark (Vals AI) | 7.5% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Excel Modeling Benchmark (Vals AI) | Not measured | 17.0% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 33 boards here | |||
ReasoningLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveBench reasoning | 82.9% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| GPQA Diamond (Artificial Analysis run) | Not measured | 74.3% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Humanity's Last Exam (Artificial Analysis run) | 48.0% | 10.6% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 20 boards here | |||
MathNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neither model has a result on 14 boards here | |||
KnowledgeDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| CorpFin (Vals AI) | Not measured | 54.2% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 19 boards here | |||
Web designDirectional onlyPublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index1 board, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveBench design | 74.0% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| Neither model has a result on the other 8 boards here | |||
GeneralLike-for-likePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index10
| Benchmark | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vals Index | 53.8% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| LiveBench data analysis | 71.4% | Not measured | Only MiniMax M3.1 Flash measured |
| MedScribe (Vals AI) | Not measured | 4.3% | Only Nemotron 3.5 Lightning measured |
| Long context reasoning (AA-LCR) | 79.7% | 60.3% | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
| Neither model has a result on the other 44 boards here | |||
Image generationNot comparablePublic boards, shown as published, kept out of the index0 boards, none shared
| Benchmark | MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | 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
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs less
Repository review
50K input + 3K output tokens
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs less
Agent loop
200K input + 10K output tokens
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 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 M3.1 Flash | NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | NVIDIA |
| Weights | No public weights listed | Open weights |
| Released | October 19, 2026 | August 11, 2026 |
| Context window | 1M | 262K |
| Input $/Mtok | $0.15 | $0.0534 |
| Output $/Mtok | $0.60 | $0.147 |
| Coding index | 59.0 | 22.6 |
| Independent measurements behind it | 4 | 2 |
| Cost per solved task | Not computable | $0.06 |
| Source | OpenRouter listing | OpenRouter listing |
Questions
Is MiniMax M3.1 Flash better than Nemotron 3.5 Lightning for coding?
Pick MiniMax M3.1 Flash for coding: it scores 59.0 on the Vibe Coding Index against 22.6 for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning. Pick Nemotron 3.5 Lightning for output tokens 4.1x cheaper ($0.147 vs $0.60 per million).
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens; Nemotron 3.5 Lightning costs $0.0534 and $0.147. Cost per solved task is known for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning only.
Which has the bigger context window, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or Nemotron 3.5 Lightning?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash, with 1M tokens against 262K.
How many benchmarks is the MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning comparison based on?
7 benchmarks have a result for both models as of October 22, 2026. MiniMax M3.1 Flash's coding index rests on 4 independent benchmarks and Nemotron 3.5 Lightning's on 2. Where only one model has a result, the page says so instead of naming a winner.