Head-to-head comparison across 2benchmark categories. Overall scores shown here use BenchLM's provisional ranking lane.
MiniMax M3
76
Step 3.7 Flash
72
Verified leaderboard positions: MiniMax M3 #12 · Step 3.7 Flash unranked
Pick MiniMax M3 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Step 3.7 Flash only becomes the better choice if you want the cheaper token bill or you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.
Agentic
+6.0 difference
Coding
+10.7 difference
MiniMax M3
Step 3.7 Flash
$0.3 / $1.2
$0.2 / $1.15
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
1M
256K
Pick MiniMax M3 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Step 3.7 Flash only becomes the better choice if you want the cheaper token bill or you want the stronger reasoning-first profile.
MiniMax M3 is clearly ahead on the provisional aggregate, 76 to 72. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
MiniMax M3's sharpest advantage is in coding, where it averages 67 against 56.3. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is BrowseComp, 83.5% to 75.8%.
MiniMax M3 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $0.30 input / $1.20 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.20 input / $1.15 output per 1M tokens for Step 3.7 Flash. Step 3.7 Flash 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. MiniMax M3 gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for Step 3.7 Flash.
MiniMax M3 is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 76 to 72. The biggest single separator in this matchup is BrowseComp, where the scores are 83.5% and 75.8%.
MiniMax M3 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 67 versus 56.3. Inside this category, Terminal-Bench 2.0 is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
MiniMax M3 has the edge for agentic tasks in this comparison, averaging 71.9 versus 65.9. Inside this category, BrowseComp is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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