MiniMax M3 vs Qwen3.8 27B
API pricing, context window and capabilities for MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.8 27B, side by side. Prices are the cheapest listed serving route per 1M tokens, from LiteLLM and OpenRouter.
Verdict
computed from the published numbersMiniMax M3 wins on context window. Qwen3.8 27B wins on Terminal-Bench and on intelligence.
Price
Tied
Terminal-Bench
Qwen3.8 27B
Intelligence
Qwen3.8 27B
Context window
MiniMax M3
Key takeaways
who wins on what, from the published numbersMiniMax M3 wins
- Cheaper output ($0.96 vs $1.49 /1M)
- Larger context window (1M vs 262K)
- Higher max output (1M vs 33K)
- More serving providers (11 vs 7)
Qwen3.8 27B wins
- Cheaper input ($0.23 vs $0.04 /1M)
Cheaper overall
MiniMax M3
$0.23 + $0.96 /1M
Larger context
MiniMax M3
1M
More providers
MiniMax M3
11 providers
Pricing & specs
cheapest listed route · per 1M tokensOn-demand listed rates, OpenRouter routed quotes and Vercel reseller quotes. Enterprise commitments can be materially lower. An OpenRouter routed quote is the price of whichever upstream provider OpenRouter prefers today, so it moves day to day.
| MiniMax M3 | Qwen3.8 27B | |
|---|---|---|
| Input $/1M | $0.23via Wandb | $0.04OpenRouter routed quote best |
| Output $/1M | $0.96via Wandb best | $1.49via Cerebras |
| Context window | 1M best | 262K |
| Max output | 1M best | 33K |
| Serving providers | 11 best | 7 |
| Date | Released Jun 1, 2026 | Released Aug 14, 2026 |
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores, side by side| MiniMax M3 | Qwen3.8 27B | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 29.2 | 33.7 best |
| Terminal-Bench | 65% | 80% best |
| GPQA Diamond | 93% best | 91% |
| Output speed | 107 t/s best | 45 t/s |
| Latency (TTFT) | 1.21s best | 3.83s |
Cost calculator
choose a serving route for each sideInput tokens / month
Output tokens / month
MiniMax M3
via Wandb
$2.11
Qwen3.8 27B
via OpenRouter
$2.50
Capabilities
feature support, side by side| Feature | MiniMax M3 | Qwen3.8 27B |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tool use | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reasoning | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio | — | — |
| Prompt caching | ✓ | ✓ |
| Structured output | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web search | — | — |
Related comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, MiniMax M3 or Qwen3.8 27B?
Qwen3.8 27B is cheaper for input ($0.23 vs $0.04 per 1M tokens) as an OpenRouter routed quote. MiniMax M3 is cheaper for output ($0.96 vs $1.49 per 1M tokens) from Wandb.
What is the context window difference between MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.8 27B?
MiniMax M3 has a 1M-token context window and Qwen3.8 27B has 262K tokens, so MiniMax M3 can take a larger prompt.
How do MiniMax M3 and Qwen3.8 27B compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, Qwen3.8 27B leads on Terminal-Bench, and Qwen3.8 27B leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026
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