Gemini 3.8 Flash High vs MiniMax-M3.1-Flash compared

Gemini 3.8 Flash High leads the intelligence index 30.8 to 29.1. Benchmarks, sample bills, speed and a verdict.

Metric	Gemini 3.8 Flash (High)	MiniMax-M3.1-Flash
Intelligence Index	30.8	29.1
Input price (per 1M tokens)	$0.75	$0.15
Output price (per 1M tokens)	$3.75	$0.60
Output speed (tokens/s)	121	147
Time to first token	27s	1.0s
Release date	2026-09-02	2026-10-19

Metric

Gemini 3.8 Flash (High)

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash

Intelligence Index

30.8

29.1

Input price (per 1M tokens)

$0.75

$0.15

Output price (per 1M tokens)

$3.75

$0.60

Output speed (tokens/s)

121

147

Time to first token

27s

1.0s

Release date

2026-09-02

2026-10-19

If you only looked at the intelligence index, Gemini 3.8 Flash (High) and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash would be hard to tell apart. Everything below is read from the benchmark, price and speed data in Franklin AI's catalogue; nothing here comes from a hands-on test. Cost is where they split the most, with MiniMax-M3.1-Flash working out at about 17% of Gemini 3.8 Flash High's blended rate.

Price per token

Per million tokens, Gemini 3.8 Flash High charges $0.75 for input and $3.75 for output, while MiniMax-M3.1-Flash charges $0.15 and $0.60. Gemini 3.8 Flash High costs 6.3 times as much per output token.

A reference job of 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens costs $1.50 with Gemini 3.8 Flash High and $0.27 with MiniMax-M3.1-Flash, so MiniMax-M3.1-Flash saves $1.23. A bigger example, summarising 1,000 documents of 8,000 tokens into 400-token summaries, costs $7.50 on Gemini 3.8 Flash High and $1.44 on MiniMax-M3.1-Flash: a gap of $6.06. On a 3:1 blend of input to output tokens, that works out to $1.50 versus $0.262 per million.

When they came out

Gemini 3.8 Flash High came first, on September 2, 2026; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash followed on October 19, 2026.

Speed and latency

Gemini 3.8 Flash High generates about 121 tokens per second and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash about 147 tokens per second. On long outputs, that is a real advantage for MiniMax-M3.1-Flash. Before any text appears, Gemini 3.8 Flash High takes 27 seconds and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash 1.0 seconds. MiniMax-M3.1-Flash gets to its first token 27 times as fast.

For a 1,000-token response, first token plus generation comes to roughly 36 seconds on Gemini 3.8 Flash High and 7.8 seconds on MiniMax-M3.1-Flash.

Overall capability: 1.7 points apart

Gemini 3.8 Flash High comes out ahead on the intelligence index, 30.8 to 29.1. The lead is visible but narrow, so it should not decide the choice on its own.

Among 109 active scored models, Gemini 3.8 Flash High sits 50th and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash 59th.

The catalogue does not yet split either model's score into coding and math indexes.

Cost per point of intelligence

Per point of intelligence index, Gemini 3.8 Flash High costs $0.049 of blended price per million tokens and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash $0.0090. MiniMax-M3.1-Flash delivers each index point for 81% less; whether Gemini 3.8 Flash High's extra 1.7 points are worth the premium depends on how often your tasks need them.

FAQ

Is Gemini 3.8 Flash High better than MiniMax-M3.1-Flash?

It depends on what you need: Gemini 3.8 Flash High scores higher on the intelligence index, 30.8 to 29.1; MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is 83% cheaper on blended price; and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash streams output 1.2 times as fast.

Which is newer, Gemini 3.8 Flash High or MiniMax-M3.1-Flash?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is newer. It was released on October 19, 2026, about 2 months after Gemini 3.8 Flash High (September 2, 2026).

Is MiniMax-M3.1-Flash cheaper than Gemini 3.8 Flash High?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is cheaper on a blended basis. Gemini 3.8 Flash High lists $0.75 per million input tokens and $3.75 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 $1.50 against $0.27.

Was this comparison tested by hand?

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.

Does Gemini 3.8 Flash High respond faster than MiniMax-M3.1-Flash?

MiniMax-M3.1-Flash generates output faster, at 147 tokens per second against 121 tokens per second. MiniMax-M3.1-Flash reaches its first token sooner (1.0 seconds against 27 seconds).

Final whistle

In one line: MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is the stronger all-round pick on this data, while Gemini 3.8 Flash High makes sense in narrower cases. Pick Gemini 3.8 Flash High if you need the higher overall score (30.8 against 29.1). Pick MiniMax-M3.1-Flash if cost matters ($0.60 against $3.75 per million output tokens) and users are waiting on the first word.

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 Gemini 3.8 Flash (High) and MiniMax-M3.1-Flash pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.