Claude Opus 4.8 vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Wins 2 of 3 areas
Reasoning · Images and charts
Wins 1 of 3 areas
Coding
Claude Opus 4.8 is the stronger all-rounder.MiniMax M3.1 Flash is cheaper and better at coding.
Scores updated · 11 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the three areas where both have results. Each piece is one test, so a longer bar means more evidence; grey means the two scored within a point of each other.
Coding, reasoning and images and charts rest on a single test each.
What it costs
Prices per million tokens, roughly 750,000 words. The bars show the cost of a million tokens read plus a million written.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs 98% less for the same work.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where Claude Opus 4.8 pulls ahead
- Reasoning about charts from research papersCharXiv (RQ)+7.4points ahead
- Very hard expert questions across many subjectsHumanity's Last Exam+5.3points ahead
Where MiniMax M3.1 Flash pulls ahead
No clear win on a test scored out of 100.
Every test, side by side
All 11 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingMiniMax M3.1 Flash
- LMArena · WebDevMiniMax M3.1 Flash by 34 rating points15561590+34 rating
ReasoningClaude Opus 4.8
- Humanity's Last ExamClaude Opus 4.8 by 5.348.743.4+5.3
Images and chartsClaude Opus 4.8
- CharXiv (RQ)Claude Opus 4.8 by 7.489.982.5+7.4
Other results8 tests, not counted
Tests outside the eight areas. They are not counted above: several are summary scores built from other tests, or the same test under another name.
- GDP (Surge AI)Claude Opus 4.8 by 6484.820.8+64
- DeepSWE 1.1MiniMax M3.1 Flash by 14.75973.7+14.7
- Terminal-Bench 4.0MiniMax M3.1 Flash by 14.523.638.1+14.5
- NL2RepoClaude Opus 4.8 by 8.569.761.2+8.5
- OSWorld 2.0MiniMax M3.1 Flash by 655.761.7+6
- Agents' Last ExamMiniMax M3.1 Flash by 3.925.729.6+3.9
- CyberGymMiniMax M3.1 Flash by 3.478.882.2+3.4
- PostTrainBenchMiniMax M3.1 Flash by 2.137.239.3+2.1
Questions people ask
Which is better, Claude Opus 4.8 or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
Claude Opus 4.8 wins two of the three areas where both have results: reasoning and images and charts. MiniMax M3.1 Flash wins coding, and costs 98% less.
Which is better for coding?
MiniMax M3.1 Flash. It wins the one coding test both models report.
Which is cheaper?
Claude Opus 4.8 costs $5.00 per million input tokens and $25.00 per million output tokens; MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.15 and $0.60. That makes MiniMax M3.1 Flash about 98% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 11 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 3 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 8 are listed but not counted, because several are summary scores or repeat a test. Each score is the one shown on the model's own page.