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Van Data Team

text model comparison

GLM-5.3-Flash vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash

GLM-5.3-Flash and MiniMax M3.1 Flash are both current text models, from Z.ai and MiniMax. Both cost $0.15 per 1M input tokens. Both accept 1,000,000 tokens of context.

Data verified October 23, 2026 · Dataset 2026-10-23

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Side by side

GLM-5.3-Flash and MiniMax M3.1 Flash, line by line

Prices in effect today, compared at the same tier wherever both list one. The better value in each row is highlighted.

FactGLM-5.3-FlashMiniMax M3.1 Flash
Price
Price per 1M input tokens$0.15$0.15
Price per 1M output tokens$0.50 (better)$0.60
Independent benchmarks
Arena Text1475 Elo (#21 of 49)Not measured
GPQA Diamond90.2% (#27 of 40)Not measured
FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2)55.8% (#31 of 40)Not measured
Specs
ProviderZ.aiMiniMax
Release dateAugust 26, 2026October 19, 2026
AccessAPI and open weightsAPI and open weights
Context window1,000,000 tokens1,000,000 tokens
Max output128,000 tokensNot reported
Inputtext, image, videotext, image, video
Outputtexttext

No independent benchmark has scored both models yet. Each rank counts the current models scored on that benchmark.

Scores:Arena · 2026-10-12Epoch AI · 2026-10-12

Charts

Against every current text model

Where GLM-5.3-Flash and MiniMax M3.1 Flash land among the current models of their task, on every independent benchmark, on price and on context.

Where each stands

Only GLM-5.3-Flash has a current Arena Text score: #21 of 49. Each bar is the share of current models it beats.

GLM-5.3-Flash and MiniMax M3.1 Flash among the current text models, one row per benchmark, price and context window.

Independent benchmarks

Arena Text

GLM-5.3-Flash:#21of 49

1,475 Elo · ahead of 52%

MiniMax M3.1 Flash: Not scored

GPQA Diamond

GLM-5.3-Flash:#27of 40

90.2% · ahead of 33%

MiniMax M3.1 Flash: Not scored

FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2)

GLM-5.3-Flash:#31of 40

55.8% · ahead of 23%

MiniMax M3.1 Flash: Not scored

Price and context

Price per 1M input tokens

GLM-5.3-Flash:#5of 49

$0.15 · cheaper than 90%

MiniMax M3.1 Flash:#5of 49

$0.15 · cheaper than 90%

Price per 1M output tokens

GLM-5.3-Flash:#3of 49

$0.50 · cheaper than 92%

MiniMax M3.1 Flash:#6of 49

$0.60 · cheaper than 90%

Context window

GLM-5.3-Flash:#26of 64

1M tokens · longer than 22%

MiniMax M3.1 Flash:#26of 64

1M tokens · longer than 22%

Scores fromArena · 2026-10-12Epoch AI · 2026-10-12

Quality against price

Arena Text · measured October 8, 2026

GLM-5.3-Flash scores 1,475 at $0.238 (blended price per 1M tokens). The line joins the current models no other beats on both price and Arena Text score; hover any point to name it.

Quality against priceArena Text score against price for 41 text models, GLM-5.3-Flash and MiniMax M3.1 Flash marked.1,2501,3001,3501,4001,4501,5001,550$0.30$1$3$10MOST ATTRACTIVE QUADRANTMedian price $3Median 1,475Blended price per 1M tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scaleArena Text (Elo)GLM-5.3-Flash
Quality against price: the data
Arena Text score against price for 41 text models, GLM-5.3-Flash and MiniMax M3.1 Flash marked.
ModelProviderBlended price per 1M tokensArena Text (Elo)
Gemini 4 ArgonGoogle$41,525
Claude Opus 5.5Anthropic$81,507
Claude Fable 5Anthropic$201,504
Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic$201,501
Gemini 3.8 FlashGoogle$1.501,497
Muse Spark 1.3Meta$21,494
Claude Opus 5Anthropic$101,490
Kimi K3Moonshot Kimi$61,488
Gemini 3.7 FlashGoogle$1.501,486
GPT-5.6 SolOpenAI$81,485
GPT-6.1 SolOpenAI$41,484
Qwen3.8-MaxAlibaba Qwen$31,483
GPT-5.5OpenAI$111,482
Gemini 3.6 FlashGoogle$31,482
Claude Opus 4.8Anthropic$101,481
MiMo-V2.6-ProXiaomi MiMo$0.541,480
GLM-5.3Z.ai$2.151,478
Claude Sonnet 5.5Anthropic$41,476
GPT-5.4OpenAI$5.631,475
GPT-6 AstraOpenAI$201,475
DeepSeek-V4.1-FlashDeepSeek$0.521,475
GLM-5.3-FlashZ.ai$0.241,475
Gemini 3 Flash PreviewGoogle$1.131,473
Grok 4.20xAI$1.561,472
GPT-5.6 TerraOpenAI$4.501,466
Grok 4.5xAI$31,466
DeepSeek-V4-ProDeepSeek$1.981,465
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic$41,461
GPT-6 SolOpenAI$41,456
Gemini 3.5 Flash-LiteGoogle$0.851,455
Grok 4.6xAI$31,454
GPT-5.6 LunaOpenAI$0.451,452
MiMo-V2.6-FlashXiaomi MiMo$0.181,451
GPT-6 LunaOpenAI$0.201,443
Grok 4.7xAI$31,443
Grok 4.3xAI$1.561,442
Mistral Large 4Mistral AI$2.061,429
GPT-4.1OpenAI$3.501,415
Solar Pro 4Upstage$0.521,386
GPT-4.1 miniOpenAI$0.701,383
GPT-4.1 nanoOpenAI$0.181,322

Cost

What each costs

Example workloads at each provider's listed rates, then every other rate either one lists. The cheaper figure in each row is highlighted.

The same work, priced

For 10M input and 2M output tokens, MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs 1.1 times as much as GLM-5.3-Flash, at each provider's listed rates.

What GLM-5.3-Flash and MiniMax M3.1 Flashcost for the same work, at each provider's listed rates.

  • 10M input and 2M output tokens

    MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs 1.1× as much

    GLM-5.3-Flash
    $2.50
    MiniMax M3.1 Flash
    $2.70

  • The same, with 9M of the input tokens cached

    MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs 1.0× as much

    GLM-5.3-Flash
    $1.42
    MiniMax M3.1 Flash
    $1.49
Workload or rateGLM-5.3-FlashMiniMax M3.1 Flash
Example workloads
10M input and 2M output tokens$2.50 (better)$2.70
The same, with 9M of the input tokens cached$1.42 (better)$1.49
Other listed rates
1M input tokens, cached$0.03$0.015 (better)

Verdict

When to choose each

GLM-5.3-Flash

Where it leads

  • Lower price per 1M output tokens, $0.50 vs $0.60

Best for

  • Low-cost coding from screenshots or screen recordings
  • Document and research agents on a budget

Watch out for

  • Thinking cannot be disabled
  • A faster GLM-5.3-FlashX is a separate model id at $0.37 input and $1.25 output per 1M tokens
Full GLM-5.3-Flash profile

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Where it leads

  • Cheaper cached input, $0.015 vs $0.03 per 1M tokens

Best for

  • Low-cost coding and agent loops
  • Long-context multimodal work on a budget

Watch out for

  • Thinking cannot be turned off; effort runs from low to max, and max is the default
  • MiniMax gives two parameter counts (about 428B in the model card, 220B in the file metadata), and no independent benchmark score is recorded here yet
Full MiniMax M3.1 Flash profile

From benchmark to production

Building on GLM-5.3-Flash or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

Public scores rarely hold on your own data. We test both models on your real tasks, then build the agent or pipeline around the one that wins.

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FAQ

GLM-5.3-Flash vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash FAQ

Which is cheaper, GLM-5.3-Flash or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

Both cost $0.15 per 1M input tokens. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, GLM-5.3-Flash costs $2.50 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash $2.70 at standard rates.

Which is cheaper with prompt caching, GLM-5.3-Flash or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

GLM-5.3-Flash charges $0.03 per 1M cached input tokens, 80% below its standard input rate, and MiniMax M3.1 Flash $0.015, 90% below. With 9M of 10M input tokens cached and 2M output tokens, GLM-5.3-Flash costs $1.42 and MiniMax M3.1 Flash $1.49.

Which has the larger context window, GLM-5.3-Flash or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

Both accept 1,000,000 tokens of context.

Further reading

More on GLM-5.3-Flash and MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Related comparisons

Production evaluation

Choosing between GLM-5.3-Flash and MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

Public benchmarks narrow the shortlist. We run both on your own tasks, data and cost limits, then build the routing and review controls to run the winner in production.

  • A head-to-head evaluation on your real workload
  • Routing between models by cost and difficulty
Compare all modelsBook a consultation