AI model comparison
MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
Side by side comparison of MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Gemini 3.8 Flash 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
- 1.05M
Gemini 3.8 Flash is Google's most intelligent Flash model with significant gains from 3.7 Flash across software engineering, agentic tasks, and multi-step reasoning.
- Input / 1M
- $0.83
- Output / 1M
- $4.13
- Context
- 1.05M
Comparing image generators? Compare image models
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
6.2x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Gemini 3.8 Flash
30.5 vs 28.9 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Tie
1.05M vs 1.05M tokens
Newer release
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Released October 19, 2026
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Gemini 3.8 Flash30.5Coding index
Gemini 3.8 Flash76.3Agentic index
Gemini 3.8 Flash40.2Pricing
MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Gemini 3.8 Flash API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | Gemini 3.8 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.15 | $0.83 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.60 | $4.13 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.02 | $0.08 |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | $0.04 |
| Web searchPer request | Not available | $0.014 |
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
Gemini 3.8 Flash$3.71Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Gemini 3.8 Flash$41.25$18.98 cachedLong document summary
150K in, 2K out
Gemini 3.8 Flash$132$20.63 cachedSpecs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | Gemini 3.8 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1.05M tokens | 1.05M tokens |
| Max output | 524K tokens | 66K tokens |
| Input types | Image, Text, Video | Audio, File, Image, Text, Video |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | Max, Extra high, High, Medium, Low | High, Medium, Low |
| Default reasoning effort | Max | Medium |
| Release date | October 19, 2026 | September 2, 2026 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | Gemini 3.8 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Supported | Supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GLM 5.3 Flash
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GPT-6 Luna
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GLM 5.3
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Step 5 Preview
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs MiMo-V2.6-Flash
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Claude Haiku 5.5
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Hy3
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs MiMo-V2.6-Pro
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Solar Pro 4
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Mistral Large 4
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs DeepSeek V4 Pro 0813
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Qwen3.8 27B
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs MiniMax M3
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Qwen3.8 Flash
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GPT-6 Luna Pro
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs gpt-oss-120b
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs DeepSeek V3.2
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GPT-4o-mini
Gemini 3.8 FlashView full model details- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs GPT-6 Astra
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Muse Spark 1.3
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Grok 4.7
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Hy4 preview
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902)
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs GLM 5.3
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs GPT-6 Luna
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs MiMo-V2.6-Pro
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Step 5 Preview
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Solar Pro 4
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Mistral Large 4
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs GLM 5.2
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Gemini 3 Flash Preview
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Gemini 3.7 Flash
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Gemini 2.5 Flash
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Claude Haiku 4.5
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Grok 4.6
Our take
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 6.2x cheaper for a typical chat. Gemini 3.8 Flash scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (30.5 vs 28.9). 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 Gemini 3.8 Flash cheaper?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is cheaper 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, while Gemini 3.8 Flash costs $0.83 per 1M input tokens and $4.13 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or Gemini 3.8 Flash?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 1.05M for Gemini 3.8 Flash.
Is MiniMax M3.1 Flash smarter than Gemini 3.8 Flash?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores 28.9 and Gemini 3.8 Flash scores 30.5, putting Gemini 3.8 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 Gemini 3.8 Flash at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Gemini 3.8 Flash answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Gemini 3.8 Flash at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.