AI model comparison
MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Step 5 Preview
Side by side comparison of MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Step 5 Preview 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
Step 5 Preview is StepFun's flagship model for agentic work, built on a sparse Mixture-of-Experts architecture (27B active / 600B total parameters).
- Input / 1M
- $1
- Output / 1M
- $2.70
- 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
5.6x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Step 5 Preview
43.7 vs 42.7 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Step 5 Preview
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
Coding index
Agentic index
Pricing
MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Step 5 Preview API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.15 | $1 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.60 | $2.70 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.02 | $0.10 |
| 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
Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Long document summary
150K in, 2K out
Specs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 1M tokens | 1.05M tokens |
| Max output | 524K tokens | 64K tokens |
| Input types | Image, Text, Video | 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 | October 8, 2026 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
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 MiMo-V2.6-Pro
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GLM 5.3
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Claude Haiku 5.5
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GLM 5.3 Flash
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Ling 3.1 Flash
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GPT-6 Luna
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs MiMo-V2.6-Flash
- MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GPT-5.6 Luna
- Step 5 Preview vs DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
- Step 5 Preview vs GLM 5.3 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs Hy4 preview
- Step 5 Preview vs GLM 5.3
- Step 5 Preview vs Muse Spark 1.3
- Step 5 Preview vs Grok 4.7
- Step 5 Preview vs Claude Haiku 5.5
- Step 5 Preview vs MiMo-V2.6-Pro
- Step 5 Preview vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902)
- Step 5 Preview vs Kimi K3
- Step 5 Preview vs Grok 4.6
- Step 5 Preview vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs GPT-5.6 Terra
- Step 5 Preview vs Claude Opus 4.8
- Step 5 Preview vs Qwen3.8 2.4T A95B
- Step 5 Preview vs Gemini 3.7 Flash
- Step 5 Preview vs Muse Spark 1.2
Our take
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is 5.6x cheaper for a typical chat. Step 5 Preview scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (43.7 vs 42.7). Step 5 Preview 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 Step 5 Preview 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 Step 5 Preview costs $1 per 1M input tokens and $2.70 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, MiniMax M3.1 Flash or Step 5 Preview?
Step 5 Preview supports up to 1.05M tokens of context, compared with 1M for MiniMax M3.1 Flash.
Is MiniMax M3.1 Flash smarter than Step 5 Preview?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores 42.7 and Step 5 Preview scores 43.7, putting Step 5 Preview 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 Step 5 Preview at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Step 5 Preview answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Step 5 Preview at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.