Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs MiniMax M2.5
Wins 1 of 6 areas
Facts
Wins 5 of 6 areas
Coding · Agents · Reasoning · Long documents · Following instructions
MiniMax M2.5 is the stronger all-rounder.Claude Sonnet 4.5 is better at facts.
Scores updated · 28 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the six 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.
- AgentsCarrying out multi-step tasks on its own02MiniMax M2.52 of 2 tests
- CodingWriting and fixing software12MiniMax M2.52 of 5 tests · 2 ties
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking12MiniMax M2.52 of 4 tests · 1 tie
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts01MiniMax M2.51 of 1 test
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked01MiniMax M2.51 of 1 test
- FactsGetting facts right instead of making them up21Claude Sonnet 4.52 of 3 tests
Long documents and following instructions 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 M2.5 costs 92% less for the same work.
The biggest differences
The three tests each model wins by the widest margin. Scores are out of 100.
Where MiniMax M2.5 pulls ahead
- Finds hard-to-locate facts by browsing the webBrowseComp+52.2points ahead
- Follows unfamiliar, precisely checkable instructionsIFBench+14.3points ahead
- Real work tasks from 44 professionsGDPVal+13.4points ahead
Where Claude Sonnet 4.5 pulls ahead
- Avoids making up answers it doesn't knowAA-Omniscience · Non-hallucination+39points ahead
- Abstract visual puzzles that people can solveARC-AGI-2+8.7points ahead
- Answers hard knowledge questions correctlyAA-Omniscience · Accuracy+6.7points ahead
Every test, side by side
All 28 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingMiniMax M2.5
- SWE-bench ProMiniMax M2.5 by 11.843.655.4+11.8
- SciCodeClaude Sonnet 4.5 by 3.145.742.6+3.1
- SWE-bench VerifiedMiniMax M2.5 by 377.280.2+3
- Terminal-Bench Hardtie35.634.8tie
- LMArena · WebDevtie13941387tie
AgentsMiniMax M2.5
- BrowseCompMiniMax M2.5 by 52.224.176.3+52.2
- GDPValMiniMax M2.5 by 13.420.533.9+13.4
ReasoningMiniMax M2.5
- ARC-AGI-2Claude Sonnet 4.5 by 8.713.64.9+8.7
- Humanity's Last ExamMiniMax M2.5 by 2.717.820.5+2.7
- GPQA DiamondMiniMax M2.5 by 1.483.484.8+1.4
- CritPttie1.11.1tie
FactsClaude Sonnet 4.5
- AA-Omniscience · Non-hallucinationClaude Sonnet 4.5 by 3950.911.9+39
- AA-Omniscience · AccuracyClaude Sonnet 4.5 by 6.732.926.2+6.7
- Vectara HHEM hallucination ratelower is betterMiniMax M2.5 by 2.9129.1+2.9
Following instructionsMiniMax M2.5
- IFBenchMiniMax M2.5 by 14.357.371.6+14.3
Other results12 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.
- AA-OmniscienceClaude Sonnet 4.5 by 38.8-0.1-38.9+38.8
- AA Agentic IndexMiniMax M2.5 by 38.117.555.6+38.1
- τ²-Bench Telecom (AA run)MiniMax M2.5 by 17.278.195.3+17.2
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexClaude Sonnet 4.5 by 14.752.137.4+14.7
- Multi-SWE-BenchMiniMax M2.5 by 744.351.3+7
- swe_bench_bashMiniMax M2.5 by 4.471.475.8+4.4
- vectara_factual_consistencyMiniMax M2.5 by 2.98890.9+2.9
- vectara_answer_rateMiniMax M2.5 by 2.695.698.2+2.6
- AA IntelligenceMiniMax M2.5 by 2.120.722.8+2.1
- AIME25 no toolsClaude Sonnet 4.5 by 1.78886.3+1.7
- vectara_avg_summary_lengthtie127.8137.2tie
- ARC-AGI-1tie63.763.7tie
Questions people ask
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or MiniMax M2.5?
MiniMax M2.5 wins five of the six areas where both have results: coding, agents, reasoning, long documents and following instructions. Claude Sonnet 4.5 wins facts.
Which is better for coding?
MiniMax M2.5. It wins 2 of the 5 coding tests both models report; Claude Sonnet 4.5 wins 1, and 2 are ties.
Which is cheaper?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens; MiniMax M2.5 costs $0.30 and $1.20. That makes MiniMax M2.5 about 92% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 28 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 16 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 12 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.