GPT-4.1 vs MiniMax M2
Benchmarks, API pricing and specs, head to head. Data updated 2026-06-10.
OpenAI · Apr 2025
A non-reasoning workhorse with a 1M-token context window, still popular for predictable-latency production APIs.
MiniMax · Oct 2025
A 10B-active MoE tuned purely for agents and code — striking capability-per-active-parameter at rock-bottom prices.
The verdict
MiniMax M2 wins 2 of the 2 benchmarks these models share, against 0 for GPT-4.1. On price the gap is dramatic: MiniMax M2 works out roughly 6.7x cheaper per blended million tokens. GPT-4.1 also takes 1M of context versus 205K for MiniMax M2. And MiniMax M2 is open-weights (MIT), so it can be self-hosted — a structural advantage if data control or vendor independence matters.
Benchmark head-to-head 0–2
Specs & pricing
| GPT-4.1 | MiniMax M2 | |
|---|---|---|
| modhub Index | — | 68.9 |
| Input price / 1M | $2 | $0.3 |
| Output price / 1M | $8 | $1.2 |
| Context window | 1M | 205K |
| Max output | 33K | — |
| Open weights | no | yes (MIT) |
| Reasoning model | no | yes |
| Multimodal input | text, image | text |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jun 2024 | Jun 2025 |
| Released | Apr 2025 | Oct 2025 |
| Example monthly cost* | $32.00 | $4.80 |
* 10M input + 1.5M output tokens per month at list prices, no caching. Green = better value on that row.
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better, GPT-4.1 or MiniMax M2?
- MiniMax M2 wins 2 of the 2 benchmarks these models share, against 0 for GPT-4.1. On price the gap is dramatic: MiniMax M2 works out roughly 6.7x cheaper per blended million tokens. GPT-4.1 also takes 1M of context versus 205K for MiniMax M2. And MiniMax M2 is open-weights (MIT), so it can be self-hosted — a structural advantage if data control or vendor independence matters.
- Which is cheaper, GPT-4.1 or MiniMax M2?
- GPT-4.1 costs $2/$8 per million input/output tokens, while MiniMax M2 costs $0.3/$1.2. For a typical workload of 10M input and 1.5M output tokens per month, that's $32.00 versus $4.80.
- Which model is better for coding, GPT-4.1 or MiniMax M2?
- On SWE-bench Verified — the standard agentic-coding benchmark — MiniMax M2 scores 69.4% versus 54.6% for GPT-4.1, making MiniMax M2 the stronger pick for coding agents.