Model comparison
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) vs MiniMax M3
Head-to-head evidence from 23 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Verified leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) #21; MiniMax M3 #18
BenchAlign evidence: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) not scored; MiniMax M3 supported. Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) and MiniMax M3 share 23 comparable benchmark results. 3 of 8 categories are comparable. 17 results are unique to DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max); 22 to MiniMax M3.
Updated July 16, 2026- Shared results
- 23
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) only
- 17
- MiniMax M3 only
- 22
- Comparable categories
- 3 / 8
Treat this as a split decision. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) makes more sense if mathematics is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill; MiniMax M3 is the better fit if agentic is the priority or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 23 shared benchmark results across 6 evidence categories; 3 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) and MiniMax M3 finish on the same provisional overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The provisional headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.
MiniMax M3 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $0.30 input / $1.20 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.14 input / $0.28 output per 1M tokens for DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max). That is roughly 4.3x on output cost alone. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) is the reasoning model in the pair, while MiniMax M3 is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use.
Category breakdown
Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.
| Category | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Δ | MiniMax M3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)94.8 | Margin← 9.1 | MiniMax M385.7 |
| Agentic | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)63.8 | Margin→ 8.5 | MiniMax M372.3 |
| Coding | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)68.8 | Margin→ 3.4 | MiniMax M372.2 |
| Knowledge | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)55.6 | MarginNo overlap | MiniMax M3Not measured |
| Multimodal | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not measured | MarginNo overlap | MiniMax M364.9 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
BrowseComp
AgenticA 73.2%B 83.5%Winner: MiniMax M3Δ 10.3BrowseComp: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 73.2%; MiniMax M3 scored 83.5%. MiniMax M3 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
Terminal-Bench 2.0
AgenticA 56.9%B 66%Winner: MiniMax M3Δ 9.1Terminal-Bench 2.0: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 56.9%; MiniMax M3 scored 66%. MiniMax M3 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
SWE-bench Pro
CodingA 52.6%B 59%Winner: MiniMax M3Δ 6.4SWE-bench Pro: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 52.6%; MiniMax M3 scored 59%. MiniMax M3 wins this benchmark. - Source ↗
SWE-bench Verified
CodingA 79%B 80.5%Winner: MiniMax M3Δ 1.5SWE-bench Verified: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) scored 79%; MiniMax M3 scored 80.5%. MiniMax M3 wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | MiniMax M3 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)$0.14 input / $0.28 output | MiniMax M3$0.3 input / $1.2 output | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not available | MiniMax M3Not available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not available | MiniMax M3Not available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)1M | MiniMax M31M | Listed context windows are equal. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
AgenticMiniMax M3 wins18 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | MiniMax M3 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 56.9% | 66% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| BrowseCompSource | 73.2% | 83.5% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| HLE w/ toolsSource | 45.1% | — | Not comparable |
| MCP AtlasSource | 69% | 74.2% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| GDPval-AASource | 1189 | 1395 | MiniMax M3 leads |
| ToolathlonSource | 47.8% | — | Not comparable |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | 31.1% | 35.4% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 95% | 88.9% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| GDPval-AASource | 34.4% | 44.7% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| OSWorld-VerifiedSource | — | 70.1% | Not comparable |
| Claw-EvalSource | — | 74.5% | Not comparable |
| GDPval rubricsSource | — | 74.7% | Not comparable |
| BankerToolBenchSource | — | 76.1% | Not comparable |
| ResearchClawBenchSource | — | 19.8% | Not comparable |
| OSWorld 2.0Source | — | 4.6% | Not comparable |
| AA BriefcaseSource | — | 1110 | Not comparable |
| AA EnterpriseOps-GymSource | — | 32.1% | Not comparable |
| AA Harvey LABSource | — | 6.7% | Not comparable |
CodingMiniMax M3 wins14 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | MiniMax M3 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| LiveCodeBench Pass@1-COTSource | 91.6% | — | Not comparable |
| CodeforcesSource | 3052.0 | — | Not comparable |
| SWE-bench VerifiedSource | 79% | 80.5% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| SWE-bench ProSource | 52.6% | 59% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| SWE MultilingualSource | 73.3% | — | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 56.9% | 66.0% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| AA Coding IndexSource | 56.2% | 58.6% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| Terminal-Bench HardSource | 35.6% | 42.4% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| AA-SciCodeSource | 44.9% | 45.4% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| NL2RepoSource | — | 42.1% | Not comparable |
| VIBE V2Source | — | 50.1% | Not comparable |
| SVG-BenchSource | — | 63.7% | Not comparable |
| KernelBench HardSource | — | 28.8% | Not comparable |
| AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Source | — | 65.2% | Not comparable |
Reasoning4 benchmarks
Knowledge13 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | MiniMax M3 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU-ProSource | 86.2% | — | Not comparable |
| SimpleQASource | 34.1% | — | Not comparable |
| Chinese-SimpleQASource | 78.9% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQASource | 88.1% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQA-DSource | 88.1% | — | Not comparable |
| HLESource | 34.8% | — | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 40.3% | 44.4% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 89.4% | 92.9% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| AA-HLESource | 32.1% | 37.1% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -22.9% | 1.4% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 37.2% | 15.0% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 95.8% | 16.1% | MiniMax M3 leads |
| AA Openness IndexSource | — | 33.3% | Not comparable |
MathDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) wins5 benchmarks
Multimodal7 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | MiniMax M3 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena WebsiteSource | 1242 | 1294 | MiniMax M3 leads |
| OfficeQA ProSource | — | 45.1% | Not comparable |
| OmniDocBench 1.5Source | — | 91.6% | Not comparable |
| MMMU-ProSource | — | 78.1% | Not comparable |
| VideoMMMUSource | — | 84.6% | Not comparable |
| Video-MME (with subtitle)Source | — | 85.4% | Not comparable |
| AA-MMMU-ProSource | — | 78.6% | Not comparable |
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | MiniMax M3 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 79.2% | 82.9% | MiniMax M3 leads |
Frequently Asked Questions (4)
Which is better, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or MiniMax M3?
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) and MiniMax M3 are tied on the provisional overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.
Which is better for coding, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or MiniMax M3?
MiniMax M3 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 72.2 versus 68.8. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
Which is better for math, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or MiniMax M3?
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 94.8 versus 85.7. MiniMax M3 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
Which is better for agentic tasks, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or MiniMax M3?
MiniMax M3 has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 72.3 versus 63.8. Inside this category, GDPval-AA is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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