AI model comparison

LongCat 2.0 vs MiniMax M2

Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.

LongCat 2.0 is a sparse mixture-of-experts language model from Meituan, with 48B active parameters out of 1.6T total.

Input / 1M
$0.30
Output / 1M
$1.20
Context
1.05M
minimax logo

MiniMax

MiniMax M2

MiniMax-M2 is a compact, high-efficiency large language model optimized for end-to-end coding and agentic workflows.

Input / 1M
$0.30
Output / 1M
$1.20
Context
205K

At a glance

Quick verdict

How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.

Lower price

Tie

Same price for a typical chat

Higher intelligence score

meituan logo

LongCat 2.0

19.1 vs 18.6 on Artificial Analysis

Larger context window

meituan logo

LongCat 2.0

1.05M vs 205K tokens

Newer release

meituan logo

LongCat 2.0

Released July 20, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores

Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.

Intelligence index

meituan logoLongCat 2.019.1
minimax logoMiniMax M218.6

Coding index

meituan logoLongCat 2.045.3
minimax logoMiniMax M2Not available

Agentic index

meituan logoLongCat 2.014
minimax logoMiniMax M2Not available

Pricing

LongCat 2.0 vs MiniMax M2 API pricing

Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.

Metricmeituan logoLongCat 2.0minimax logoMiniMax M2
Input tokensPer 1M tokens$0.30$0.30
Output tokensPer 1M tokens$1.20$1.20
Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens$0.01Not available
Cache writePer 1M tokensNot availableNot available

What it costs in practice

Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.

Chat message

2K in, 500 out

meituan logoLongCat 2.0$1.20
minimax logoMiniMax M2$1.20

Coding task

30K in, 4K out

meituan logoLongCat 2.0$13.80$4.98 cached
minimax logoMiniMax M2$13.80

Long document summary

150K in, 2K out

meituan logoLongCat 2.0$47.40$3.30 cached
minimax logoMiniMax M2$47.40

Specs

Context window and capabilities

How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.

Metricmeituan logoLongCat 2.0minimax logoMiniMax M2
Context window1.05M tokens205K tokens
Max output262K tokens177K tokens
Input typesTextText
Output typesTextText
Reasoning effort levelsNot availableNot available
Default reasoning effortNot availableNot available
Release dateJuly 20, 2026October 23, 2025

Features

Supported features

API features available for each model.

Metricmeituan logoLongCat 2.0minimax logoMiniMax M2
Tool callingSupportedSupported
Structured outputsNot supportedSupported
JSON modeNot supportedSupported
ReasoningSupportedSupported
TemperatureSupportedSupported
Stop sequencesSupportedSupported
Deterministic seedSupportedSupported
Verbosity controlNot supportedNot supported

Our take

LongCat 2.0 scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (19.1 vs 18.6). LongCat 2.0 has the larger context window (1.05M vs 205K tokens). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is LongCat 2.0 or MiniMax M2 cheaper?

LongCat 2.0 and MiniMax M2 cost the same for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). LongCat 2.0 costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $1.20 per 1M output tokens, and MiniMax M2 costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $1.20 per 1M output tokens.

Which has a bigger context window, LongCat 2.0 or MiniMax M2?

LongCat 2.0 supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 205K for MiniMax M2.

Is LongCat 2.0 smarter than MiniMax M2?

On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, LongCat 2.0 scores 19.1 and MiniMax M2 scores 18.6, putting LongCat 2.0 ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.

Can I use LongCat 2.0 and MiniMax M2 at the same time?

Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see LongCat 2.0 and MiniMax M2 answer side by side and keep the better response.

meituan logominimax logo

Why choose? Ask both.

Send one prompt to LongCat 2.0 and MiniMax M2 at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.