# MiniMax-M2 vs Step 3.5 Flash

> Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 37.4 on the Noometry Index.

- Canonical page: https://noometry.com/compare/minimax-m2-vs-step-3-5-flash
- Last updated: 2026-10-11
- Shared benchmarks: 16

## Summary

- They share 16 benchmarks with published results for both. MiniMax-M2 scores higher in 0 categories and Step 3.5 Flash in 8 categories; 8 gaps are clear of the uncertainty.
- The widest gap is in writing & preference, where Step 3.5 Flash leads 58.8 to 53.0.
- The biggest single-benchmark swing is NYT Connections (extended): 14.8% for MiniMax-M2 and 28.4% for Step 3.5 Flash.
- Step 3.5 Flash is cheaper at $0.10 / $0.30 per million input/output tokens, against $0.30 / $1.20 for MiniMax-M2.
- Step 3.5 Flash accepts more context: 256K tokens versus 205K.

## Snapshot

| | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | MiniMax | StepFun |
| Noometry Index | 37.4 | 42.3 |
| Rank | 204 | 116 |
| Context | 205K | 256K |
| Input $/M | $0.30 | $0.10 |
| Output $/M | $1.20 | $0.30 |
| Weights | Open | Open |

## Coding

- MiniMax-M2: 39.3 (#159)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.4 (#105)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Coding | 1370 | 1436 |
| SWE-bench Verified (bash only) | 61% | — |
| LMArena WebDev | 1297 | — |

## Agentic & Tool Use

- MiniMax-M2: 25.1 (#109)
- Step 3.5 Flash: —

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench | 30% | — |
| Vending-Bench 2 | 160.6 | — |

## Reasoning

- MiniMax-M2: 19.4 (#258)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 22.2 (#202)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| NYT Connections (extended) | 14.8% | 28.4% |
| LMArena Hard Prompts | 1357 | 1411 |
| Kagi LLM Benchmark | 57.8% | — |

## Math

- MiniMax-M2: 37.3 (#160)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.6 (#84)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Math | 1352 | 1408 |
| MathArena Final-Answer Competitions | — | 66.8% |

## Knowledge

- MiniMax-M2: 37.0 (#163)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 39.6 (#132)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Expert | 1337 | 1421 |

## Multilingual

- MiniMax-M2: 45.3 (#171)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 50.5 (#119)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Non-English | 1313 | 1385 |
| LMArena Chinese | 1366 | 1447 |
| LMArena French | 1335 | 1421 |
| LMArena German | 1355 | 1405 |
| LMArena Russian | 1331 | 1385 |
| LMArena Spanish | 1326 | 1419 |
| LMArena Japanese | — | 1354 |
| LMArena Korean | — | 1352 |

## Instruction Following

- MiniMax-M2: 70.2 (#166)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 73.1 (#124)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Instruction Following | 1328 | 1385 |

## Long Context

- MiniMax-M2: 40.5 (#153)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 42.8 (#117)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Longer Query | 1331 | 1402 |

## Writing & Preference

- MiniMax-M2: 53.0 (#162)
- Step 3.5 Flash: 58.8 (#113)

| Benchmark | MiniMax-M2 | Step 3.5 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text | 1340 | 1403 |
| LMArena Creative Writing | 1286 | 1357 |
| LMArena Multi-Turn | 1361 | 1405 |

## FAQ

### Is MiniMax-M2 better than Step 3.5 Flash?

Step 3.5 Flash is the stronger model overall, scoring 42.3 to 37.4 on the Noometry Index.

### Which is cheaper, MiniMax-M2 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-M2 lists at $0.30 and $1.20.

### Is MiniMax-M2 or Step 3.5 Flash better for coding?

Step 3.5 Flash scores higher on coding benchmarks: 42.4 versus 39.3 in the Noometry coding category.

### Which has the bigger context window?

Step 3.5 Flash does, with 256K tokens against 205K.

### How many benchmarks do MiniMax-M2 and Step 3.5 Flash share?

16 benchmarks have published results for both models. MiniMax-M2 has 21 scored results on Noometry and Step 3.5 Flash has 19.