Kimi K3 vs MiniMax-M3
Cost and capability comparison. For a sample workload of 1,000 input and 500 output tokens across 100,000 requests/month, MiniMax-M3 is cheaper by about $960.00/month.
| Kimi K3 | MiniMax-M3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | ||
| Arena · Overall(LMArena Elo — higher is better) | 1473✓ | 1433 |
| Arena rank (overall) | #14✓ | #46 |
| Arena · Coding | 1679✓ | 1487 |
| Score evidence | Measured | Measured |
| Pricing (USD / 1M tokens) | ||
| Input | $3.00 | $0.3000✓ |
| Output | $15.00 | $1.20✓ |
| Cached input (read) | $0.3000 | $0.0600✓ |
| Cache write | — | — |
| Blended(3:1 input:output blend) | $6.00 | $0.5250✓ |
| Specs & capabilities | ||
| Provider | Moonshot AI | MiniMax |
| Context window | 1.0M (1,048,576)✓ | 1M (1,000,000) |
| Max output | 131,072✓ | 128,000 |
| Modalities | text | text |
| Vision | No | No |
| Tool use | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Prompt caching | Yes | Yes |
| Batch pricing | No | No |
| Tokenizer | approx | approx |
| Release date | — | — |
| Status | ga | ga |
Intelligence scores are community Arena ratings from LMArena / arena.ai, used under CC BY 4.0. Snapshot last refreshed 18 September 2026. Scores are a relative signal, not an absolute measure of capability. A Measured score was voted on directly; an Estimated score is inherited from an identical base model (a regional/creator-prefixed hosting duplicate). See our methodology.
Compare on your own workload
Kimi K3 and MiniMax-M3 are pre-loaded. Adjust the tokens and monthly volume to see which is cheaper for your usage.
Used unless you set active users below.
Results update automatically as you type.
| MiniMax-M3 | MiniMax | $0.000900 | $90.00 | $1,080.00 | 1,000,000 |
| Kimi K3 | Moonshot AI | $0.0105 | $1,050.00 | $12,600.00 | 1,048,576 |
FAQ
Which is cheaper, Kimi K3 or MiniMax-M3?
For a workload of 1,000 input and 500 output tokens over 100,000 requests/month, MiniMax-M3 is cheaper, costing about $90.00/month versus $1,050.00/month.
What is the context window of Kimi K3 and MiniMax-M3?
Kimi K3 supports 1,048,576 tokens, while MiniMax-M3 supports 1,000,000 tokens.
Estimates for planning only. Verify current pricing with each provider.