DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max vs MiniMax-M3.1-Flash compared

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max leads the intelligence index 32.6 to 29.1. Compare price, speed, latency and a clear verdict.

Metric	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max)	MiniMax-M3.1-Flash
Intelligence Index	32.6	29.1
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$0.30	$0.15
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$1.20	$0.60
Output speed (tokens/s)	162	147
Time to first token	1.2s	1.0s
Release date	2026-10-17	2026-10-19

Metric

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max)

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash

Intelligence Index

32.6

29.1

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$0.30

$0.15

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$1.20

$0.60

Output speed (tokens/s)

162

147

Time to first token

1.2s

1.0s

Release date

2026-10-17

2026-10-19

Choosing between DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash also means choosing between DeepSeek and MiniMax. The clearest gap is on the bill: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max is twice the blended price of MiniMax-M3.1-Flash. No hands-on testing went into this write-up; it summarises the recorded benchmark, price and speed data for both models.

Token pricing and a sample bill

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max lists $0.30 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash lists $0.15 and $0.60. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max costs twice as much per output token.

Take 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens: that comes to $0.54 on DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max and $0.27 on MiniMax-M3.1-Flash. A bigger example, extracting fields from 20,000 pages of 1,500 tokens into 150-token records, costs $12.60 on DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max and $6.30 on MiniMax-M3.1-Flash: a gap of $6.30.

Release timing

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash arrived on October 19, 2026, 2 days after DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max (October 17, 2026). They are effectively contemporaries.

Reasoning and overall scores

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max comes out ahead on the intelligence index, 32.6 to 29.1. That is a clear margin for an index that averages many evaluations.

Across the 109 active models with an intelligence score in the catalogue, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max ranks 45th and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash ranks 59th.

Specialist coding and math indexes are missing for both, so treat the overall score as the only capability signal here.

Score per dollar

Dividing the blended price by the intelligence index gives a rough cost per point: $0.016 for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max and $0.0090 for MiniMax-M3.1-Flash, per million tokens. So DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max buys its higher score at a premium, while MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is the value pick, paying 44% less per point.

Speed and latency

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max generates about 162 tokens per second and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash about 147 tokens per second. On outputs beyond about 300 tokens, that is a real advantage for DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max. The wait for the first token averages 1.2 seconds on DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max against 1.0 seconds on MiniMax-M3.1-Flash. Short replies favour MiniMax-M3.1-Flash; beyond about 300 tokens, DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max claws the time back.

Put together, a 2,000-token answer would take about 14 seconds from DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max and 15 seconds from MiniMax-M3.1-Flash, counting the first-token wait.

FAQ

Is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max better than MiniMax-M3.1-Flash?

It depends on what you need: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max scores higher on the intelligence index, 32.6 to 29.1; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is 50% cheaper on blended price; DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max streams output 1.1 times as fast; and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash reaches its first token sooner.

Are DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash from the same company?

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max is made by DeepSeek and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash by MiniMax. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max was released on October 17, 2026 and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash on October 19, 2026.

When were DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash released?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is newer. It was released on October 19, 2026, 2 days after DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max (October 17, 2026).

Where do these numbers come from?

The figures are the recorded benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's model catalogue. This page is written from that data automatically; neither model was tested by hand for it.

Is MiniMax-M3.1-Flash cheaper than DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is cheaper on a blended basis. DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max lists $0.30 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash lists $0.15 and $0.60. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $0.54 against $0.27.

Final whistle

Bottom line: neither DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max nor MiniMax-M3.1-Flash wins outright; each leads where the other is weaker. Pick MiniMax-M3.1-Flash if cost matters ($0.60 against $1.20 per million output tokens) and users are waiting on the first word. Pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 Max if you need the higher overall score (32.6 against 29.1) and your outputs often run past about 300 tokens.

Where the numbers come from

The scores, speed and prices in this comparison come from independent third-party model evaluations that Franklin AI syncs each day, and the article was written from a snapshot of them. For the latest results, open the DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 (Max) and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.