AI model comparison

MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017

Side by side comparison of MiniMax M3.1 Flash and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 on pricing, benchmark scores, context window, and more.

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is a multimodal model from MiniMax. Compared with M3, it delivers significant improvements across multiple benchmarks, particularly in complex agentic tasks, coding, and cybersecurity.

Input / 1M: $0.15
Output / 1M: $0.60
Context: 1M

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 is the October 17, 2026 snapshot of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, served by DeepSeek under the `deepseek-flash` API model name.

Input / 1M: $0.15
Output / 1M: $0.60
Context: 1.05M

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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

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

42.7 vs 39.5 on Artificial Analysis

Larger context window

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017

1.05M vs 1M tokens

Newer release

MiniMax M3.1 Flash

Released October 19, 2026

Benchmarks

Benchmark scores

Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.

Intelligence index

MiniMax M3.1 Flash42.7

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 101739.5

Coding index

MiniMax M3.1 FlashNot available

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017Not available

Agentic index

MiniMax M3.1 FlashNot available

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017Not available

Pricing

MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 API pricing

Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.

Metric	MiniMax M3.1 Flash	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
Input tokensPer 1M tokens	$0.15	$0.15
Output tokensPer 1M tokens	$0.60	$0.60
Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens	$0.02	$0.00
Cache writePer 1M tokens	Not available	Not 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

MiniMax M3.1 Flash$0.60

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017$0.60

Coding task

30K in, 4K out

MiniMax M3.1 Flash$6.90$2.85 cached

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017$6.90$2.49 cached

Long document summary

150K in, 2K out

MiniMax M3.1 Flash$23.70$3.45 cached

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017$23.70$1.65 cached

Specs

Context window and capabilities

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

Metric	MiniMax M3.1 Flash	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
Context window	1M tokens	1.05M tokens
Max output	524K tokens	393K tokens
Input types	Image, Text, Video	Image, Text
Output types	Text	Text
Reasoning effort levels	Max, Extra high, High, Medium, Low	Max, High, Low, None
Default reasoning effort	Max	High
Release date	October 19, 2026	October 17, 2026

Features

Supported features

API features available for each model.

Metric	MiniMax M3.1 Flash	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
Tool calling	Supported	Supported
Structured outputs	Not supported	Supported
JSON mode	Supported	Supported
Reasoning	Supported	Supported
Temperature	Supported	Supported
Stop sequences	Not supported	Supported
Deterministic seed	Not supported	Supported
Verbosity control	Not supported	Not supported

Our take

MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (42.7 vs 39.5). DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 has the larger context window (1.05M vs 1M 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 MiniMax M3.1 Flash or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 cheaper?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 cost the same for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.15 per 1M input tokens and $0.60 per 1M output tokens, and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 costs $0.15 per 1M input tokens and $0.60 per 1M output tokens.

Which has a bigger context window, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017?

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 1M for MiniMax M3.1 Flash.

Is MiniMax M3.1 Flash smarter than DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017?

On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores 42.7 and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 scores 39.5, putting MiniMax M3.1 Flash ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.

Can I use MiniMax M3.1 Flash and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 at the same time?

Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see MiniMax M3.1 Flash and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 answer side by side and keep the better response.

Why choose? Ask both.

Send one prompt to MiniMax M3.1 Flash and DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.

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