Model comparison
MiniMax M1 vs Step 3.5 Flash
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 40.3 on the Noometry Index.
Last verified . 17 shared benchmarks.
MiniMax
StepFunSummary
- They share 17 benchmarks with published results for both. MiniMax M1 scores higher in 1 category and Step 3.5 Flash in 7 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 58.8 to 53.1.
- Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper at $0.10 / $0.30 per million input/output tokens, against $0.55 / $2.20 for MiniMax M1.
- MiniMax M1 accepts more context: 1M tokens versus 256K.
Side by side
| MiniMax M1 | Step 3.5 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | MiniMax | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 40.3 | 42.3 |
| Released | 2025-06-13 | 2026-01-29 |
| Weights | Open | Open |
| Context window | 1M | 256K |
| Max output | 40K | 256K |
| Input $ / M tokens | $0.55 | $0.10 |
| Output $ / M tokens | $2.20 | $0.30 |
| Results tracked | 18 | 19 |
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Category by category
Coding Step 3.5 Flash leads
MiniMax M1: 39.9 (#153), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1359 | 1436 |
Reasoning MiniMax M1 leads
MiniMax M1: 26.9 (#126), Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1339 | 1411 |
| NYT Connections (extended) | — | 28.4% |
Math Step 3.5 Flash leads
MiniMax M1: 37.5 (#151), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1361 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |
Knowledge Step 3.5 Flash leads
MiniMax M1: 36.4 (#170), Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1317 | 1421 |
Multilingual Step 3.5 Flash leads
MiniMax M1: 45.8 (#163), Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1319 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1360 | 1447 |
| LMArena French | 1370 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1350 | 1405 |
| LMArena Japanese | 1217 | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | 1266 | 1352 |
| LMArena Russian | 1329 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1353 | 1419 |
Instruction Following Step 3.5 Flash leads
MiniMax M1: 69.3 (#174), Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1312 | 1385 |
Long Context Step 3.5 Flash leads
MiniMax M1: 41.4 (#141), Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1326 | 1402 |
| Fiction.LiveBench | 69.4% | — |
Writing & Preference Step 3.5 Flash leads
MiniMax M1: 53.1 (#161), Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)
| Benchmark | MiniMax M1 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1343 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1298 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1335 | 1405 |
Frequently asked questions
Is MiniMax M1 better than Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 40.3 on the Noometry Index.
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M1 or Step 3.5 Flash?
Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper. It lists at $0.10 per million input tokens and $0.30 per million output tokens; MiniMax M1 lists at $0.55 and $2.20.
Is MiniMax M1 or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?
Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 39.9 in the Noometry coding category.
Which has the bigger context window?
MiniMax M1 does, with 1M tokens against 256K.
How many benchmarks do MiniMax M1 and Step 3.5 Flash share?
17 benchmarks have published results for both models. MiniMax M1 has 18 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.