Head-to-head AI model comparison graphic: GPT-5.6 Luna (OpenAI) vs MiniMax-M3 (MiniMax). Intelligence index 23.8 vs 18.9; output speed 125 vs 121 tokens per second; time to first token 108s vs 0.82s; output price $1.20 vs $1.20 per million tokens; input price $0.20 vs $0.30 per million tokens. franklineh.com
GPT-5.6 Luna vs MiniMax-M3: head-to-head AI benchmark comparison. GPT-5.6 Luna leads on intelligence index, output speed and input price; MiniMax-M3 leads on time to first token; level on output price.
Head to headBy Franklin AIUpdated

GPT-5.6 Luna Max vs MiniMax-M3: speed and benchmark comparison

GPT-5.6 Luna Max leads the intelligence index 23.8 to 18.9. Price per token, response speed and when to pick each.

Pick it for GPT-5.6 Luna · Max

  • Higher intelligence index: 23.8 against 18.9.
  • Lower cost: $0.44 against $0.54 for 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens.
  • The newer release (July 2026).

Pick it for MiniMax-M3

  • Shorter wait for the first token: 0.82 seconds against 108 seconds.

By the numbers

MetricGPT-5.6 Luna (Max)MiniMax-M3
Intelligence Index23.818.9
Input price (per 1M tokens)$0.20$0.30
Output price (per 1M tokens)$1.20$1.20
Output speed (tokens/s)125121
Time to first token108s0.82s
Release date2026-07-092026-06-01

Choosing between GPT-5.6 Luna (Max) and MiniMax-M3 also means choosing between OpenAI and MiniMax. MiniMax-M3 starts answering far sooner, with a time to first token of 0.82 seconds compared with 108 seconds for GPT-5.6 Luna Max. What follows is built entirely from tracked data, so where the catalogue is silent, this page says so instead of guessing.

How fast they respond

Measured output speed is 125 tokens per second for GPT-5.6 Luna Max and 121 tokens per second for MiniMax-M3. Throughput is close to level. The wait for the first token averages 108 seconds on GPT-5.6 Luna Max against 0.82 seconds on MiniMax-M3. GPT-5.6 Luna Max waits 132 times as long before its first token. Waits that long are felt on every chat-style request, though they matter less for batch jobs.

Add the two numbers up for a 1,000-token reply and MiniMax-M3 finishes first: 116 seconds for GPT-5.6 Luna Max, 9.1 seconds for MiniMax-M3.

Which is newer

MiniMax-M3 came first, on June 1, 2026; GPT-5.6 Luna Max followed on July 9, 2026. They are effectively contemporaries.

Reasoning and overall scores

On the intelligence index, GPT-5.6 Luna Max scores 23.8 against 18.9 for MiniMax-M3. A lead of this size is hard to dismiss as noise.

Among 109 active scored models, GPT-5.6 Luna Max sits 70th and MiniMax-M3 79th.

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

Cost: GPT-5.6 Luna Max is cheaper

The list prices are $0.20 in and $1.20 out for GPT-5.6 Luna Max, and $0.30 in and $1.20 out for MiniMax-M3, per million tokens. Output rates are close, so the input rate does most of the work in favour of GPT-5.6 Luna Max.

For a sample workload of 1 million input tokens and 200,000 output tokens, GPT-5.6 Luna Max would cost $0.44 and MiniMax-M3 $0.54, a difference of $0.10. For a chat app with 50,000 sessions of 800 input and 300 output tokens, GPT-5.6 Luna Max would come in 13% lower: $26.00 for GPT-5.6 Luna Max against $30.00 for MiniMax-M3.

Value for money

Per point of intelligence index, GPT-5.6 Luna Max costs $0.019 of blended price per million tokens and MiniMax-M3 $0.028. With the higher score and the lower cost per point, GPT-5.6 Luna Max is the better value per point on these numbers.

Quick answers

Is GPT-5.6 Luna Max better than MiniMax-M3?

Not across the board: GPT-5.6 Luna Max scores higher on the intelligence index, 23.8 to 18.9; GPT-5.6 Luna Max is 14% cheaper on blended price; and MiniMax-M3 reaches its first token sooner.

Which is newer, GPT-5.6 Luna Max or MiniMax-M3?

GPT-5.6 Luna Max is newer. It was released on July 9, 2026, 38 days after MiniMax-M3 (June 1, 2026).

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.

How much do GPT-5.6 Luna Max and MiniMax-M3 cost?

GPT-5.6 Luna Max is cheaper on a blended basis. GPT-5.6 Luna Max lists $0.20 per million input tokens and $1.20 per million output tokens; MiniMax-M3 lists $0.30 and $1.20. For 1 million input and 200,000 output tokens that is $0.44 against $0.54.

Are GPT-5.6 Luna Max and MiniMax-M3 from the same company?

GPT-5.6 Luna Max is made by OpenAI and MiniMax-M3 by MiniMax. GPT-5.6 Luna Max was released on July 9, 2026 and MiniMax-M3 on June 1, 2026.

Final whistle

Bottom line: on balance the numbers favour MiniMax-M3, though GPT-5.6 Luna Max keeps a case of its own. Pick GPT-5.6 Luna Max if you need the higher overall score (23.8 against 18.9) and cost matters ($1.20 against $1.20 per million output tokens). Pick MiniMax-M3 if 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 GPT-5.6 Luna (Max) and MiniMax-M3 pages. The AI Benchmark methodology explains how that data is collected and shown.

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