# MiniMax-M2 vs Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct

> MiniMax-M2 is the stronger model overall, scoring 37.4 to 29.7 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/minimax-m2-vs-phi-3-mini-128k-instruct
- Last updated: 2026-10-11
- Shared benchmarks: 15

## Summary

- They share 15 benchmarks with published results for both. MiniMax-M2 scores higher in 7 categories and Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct in 1 category; 7 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where MiniMax-M2 leads 53.0 to 27.1.

## Snapshot

| | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | MiniMax | Microsoft |
| Noometry Index | 37.4 | 29.7 |
| Rank | 204 | 305 |
| Context | 205K | — |
| Input $/M | $0.30 | — |
| Output $/M | $1.20 | — |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- MiniMax-M2: 39.3 (#159)
- Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct: 28.8 (#312)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1370 | 1039 |
| SWE-bench Verified (bash only) | 61% | — |
| LMArena WebDev | 1297 | — |
| BigCodeBench Instruct | — | 29.6% |
| BigCodeBench Complete | — | 40.6% |

## Agentic & Tool Use

- MiniMax-M2: 25.1 (#109)
- Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct: —

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench | 30% | — |
| Vending-Bench 2 | 160.6 | — |

## Reasoning

- MiniMax-M2: 19.4 (#258)
- Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct: 19.6 (#256)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1357 | 1028 |
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 57.8% | — |
| NYT Connections (extended) | 14.8% | — |

## Math

- MiniMax-M2: 37.3 (#160)
- Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct: 31.6 (#222)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1352 | 1089 |

## Knowledge

- MiniMax-M2: 37.0 (#163)
- Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct: 26.8 (#254)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1337 | 984 |

## Multilingual

- MiniMax-M2: 45.3 (#171)
- Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct: 25.2 (#285)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1313 | 1000 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1366 | 1016 |
| LMArena French | 1335 | 1039 |
| LMArena German | 1355 | 1006 |
| LMArena Russian | 1331 | 1004 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1326 | 1059 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 899 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 856 |

## Instruction Following

- MiniMax-M2: 70.2 (#166)
- Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct: 51.8 (#294)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1328 | 1023 |

## Long Context

- MiniMax-M2: 40.5 (#153)
- Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct: 30.4 (#289)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1331 | 996 |

## Writing & Preference

- MiniMax-M2: 53.0 (#162)
- Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct: 27.1 (#301)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1340 | 1050 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1286 | 1024 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1361 | 989 |

## FAQ

### Is MiniMax-M2 better than Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct?

MiniMax-M2 is the stronger model overall, scoring 37.4 to 29.7 on the Noometry Index.

### Is MiniMax-M2 or Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct better for coding?

MiniMax-M2 scores higher on coding benchmarks: 39.3 versus 28.8 in the Noometry coding category.

### How many benchmarks do MiniMax-M2 and Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct share?

15 benchmarks have published results for both models. MiniMax-M2 has 21 scored results on Noometry and Phi 3 Mini 128k Instruct has 19.