# MiniMax releases M3.1 Flash model at about $0.22 per task

> The Chinese firm MiniMax launched M3.1 Flash, a cheaper but stronger reasoning model, with open weights slated for Oct 23, 2026.

Oossa · 2026-10-19 · https://oossa.com/en/minimax-releases-m3-1-flash-model-at-about-0-22-per-task

MiniMax announced the M3.1 Flash model on Oct 19, 2026. The company says the new version scores 42 points on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 13 points higher than its previous M3 model, while costing less than half as much per task. The API is already live at platform.minimax.io and the company plans to make the weights open on Oct 23, 2026.

## How the model performs

In tests, M3.1 Flash reached 48 % on the “Humanity’s Last Exam” benchmark, beating Deepseek V4.1 Flash’s 43 % and topping GLM‑5.3‑Flash. On the physics‑heavy CritPt benchmark it scored 22 %, ahead of GLM‑5.3‑Flash (15 %) and Gemini 3.8 Flash (18 %) but just below Deepseek’s 24 %. For factual accuracy on the AA‑Omniscience test the model answered 56 % of questions correctly, well above GLM‑5.3‑Flash (28 %) and Deepseek (43 %). The model can handle up to one million tokens of context and accepts both text and images.

## Pricing and availability

MiniMax charges $0.15 per million input tokens and $0.60 per million output tokens, with cached inputs at $0.015. Because M3.1 Flash uses fewer output tokens, the cost per task is about $0.22, roughly three‑times faster than the older M3. The company also offers a desktop app called MiniMax Code.

## The facts

- MiniMax M3.1 Flash scores 42 points on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, 13 points higher than M3.
- The model costs about $0.22 per task, less than half the cost of M3.
- M3.1 Flash achieves 48 % on the Humanity’s Last Exam benchmark, beating Deepseek V4.1 Flash’s 43 %.
- On the CritPt physics benchmark it scores 22 %, just behind Deepseek’s 24 %.
- Open‑weight release is scheduled for Oct 23, 2026; the API is live at platform.minimax.io.

## Why it matters

For developers and businesses in China and elsewhere, the lower price per task means they can run more complex reasoning jobs without breaking the budget. The open‑weight release could also let researchers experiment with a high‑performing model without waiting for a commercial license.

## Sources & references

1. [MiniMax M3.1 Flash shows China's AI price race has no floor in sight](https://the-decoder.com/minimax-m3-1-flash-shows-chinas-ai-price-race-has-no-floor-in-sight/) – The Decoder, 2026-10-19
2. [MiniMax launches M3.1 Flash model, says it cuts AI agent costs by 70%](https://siliconangle.com/2026/10/19/minimax-launches-m3-1-flash-model-says-it-cuts-ai-agent-costs-by-70/) – SiliconANGLE, 2026-10-19

Last updated: 2026-10-19