MiniMax M3 vs Qwen3.6 27B
API pricing, context window and capabilities for MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.6 27B, side by side. Prices are the cheapest serving route per 1M tokens, verified against LiteLLM and OpenRouter.
Verdict
computed from the published numbersMiniMax M3 wins on coding, on intelligence and on context window. Qwen3.6 27B wins on price.
Price
Qwen3.6 27B
Coding
MiniMax M3
Intelligence
MiniMax M3
Context window
MiniMax M3
Key takeaways
who wins on what, from the published numbersMiniMax M3 wins
- Larger context window (1M vs 262K)
- Higher max output (512K vs 262K)
- More serving providers (2 vs 1)
- Has reasoning mode
- Supports prompt caching
- Supports structured output
Qwen3.6 27B wins
- Cheaper input ($0.30 vs $0.15 /1M)
- Cheaper output ($1.20 vs $0.50 /1M)
Cheaper overall
Qwen3.6 27B
$0.15 + $0.50 /1M
Larger context
MiniMax M3
1M
More providers
MiniMax M3
2 providers
Pricing & specs
cheapest serving route · per 1M tokens| MiniMax M3 | Qwen3.6 27B | |
|---|---|---|
| Input $/1M | $0.30 | $0.15 best |
| Output $/1M | $1.20 | $0.50 best |
| Context window | 1M best | 262K |
| Max output | 512K best | 262K |
| Serving providers | 2 best | 1 |
| Released | 2026-06-01 | 2026-04-24 |
Benchmarks
Artificial Analysis indices, side by side| MiniMax M3 | Qwen3.6 27B | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 44.4 best | 37.0 |
| Coding | 58.6 best | 53.7 |
| GPQA Diamond | 93% best | 84% |
| Output speed | 85 t/s best | 57 t/s |
| Latency (TTFT) | 5.28s best | 33.07s |
Cost calculator
choose a serving route for each sideInput tokens / month
Output tokens / month
MiniMax M3
via Fireworks AI
$2.70
Qwen3.6 27B
via Libertai
$1.25
Capabilities
feature support, side by side| Feature | MiniMax M3 | Qwen3.6 27B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tool use | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reasoning | ✓ | — |
| Audio | — | — |
| Prompt caching | ✓ | — |
| Structured output | ✓ | — |
| Web search | — | — |
Related comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M3 or Qwen3.6 27B?
Qwen3.6 27B is cheaper for input ($0.30 vs $0.15 per 1M tokens). Qwen3.6 27B is cheaper for output ($1.20 vs $0.50 per 1M tokens).
What is the context window difference between MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.6 27B?
MiniMax M3 has a 1M-token context window and Qwen3.6 27B has 262K tokens, so MiniMax M3 can take a larger prompt.
How do MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.6 27B compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked Artificial Analysis indices, MiniMax M3 leads on coding, and MiniMax M3 leads on intelligence.
Pricing verified against LiteLLM + OpenRouter + provider pages · refreshed daily
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