Cost anatomy

MiniMax M3

MiniMax · MiniMax direct APIDirect API

Fresh input / cached input / output cost breakdown, active and scheduled rates, provenance, same-model deployment markup, and cost-comparable alternatives for this purchasable lane.

Start with a pattern

Illustrative workloads

Pick a useful starting shape, then fine-tune every input below.

Fine-tune

Workload and pricing scenario

Adjust the token shape, cache behavior, time window, and service tier. Every number below updates immediately.

Interactive

Workload cost calculator

Input tokens (M)60M

Output tokens (K)210K

Cache hit rate90%

Share of input tokens served from cache. Applied only to models with a cache meter.

Time

Service tier

Rows with a rate that changes by time of day, promo window or service tier are priced for this scenario instead of their flat listed rate; a brand-colored label under the model name names which one applies. Context size for band-priced rows uses the input-token count below.

Picking a specific hour also previews time-of-day rates that are scheduled but have not started billing yet; those rows are labelled · preview with their start instant. Now only ever shows rates that are billable at this moment.

Rate state

What this lane charges right now

Priced under the workload and scenario above. The full published schedule below always shows every variant regardless of which scenario is selected.

Input / 1M

$0.30

CHF 0.241

Cached input / 1M

$0.06

CHF 0.048

Output / 1M

$1.20

CHF 0.966

Full published schedule

Priority$0.45 / $0.09 / $1.80

Cost anatomy

Where this workload's cost goes

60M input tokens (90% cache hit) and 210K output tokens, at the resolved rate above.

$1.80

Fresh input · CHF 1.45

$3.24

Cached input · CHF 2.61

$0.252

Output · CHF 0.203

$5.29

Workload total · CHF 4.26

$1.80 + $3.24 + $0.252 = $5.29

Provenance

How much to trust these numbers

InputofficialCached inputofficialOutputofficial

Current flagship; rates shown are the ≤512K input band — above 512K it bills $0.60/M input, $0.12/M cached, $2.40/M output. The Foundry Data Zone lane is exactly 1.1x these rates. A 'priority' service tier bills 1.5x standard, now modeled below.

MiniMax official pricing page (platform.minimax.io/docs/guides/pricing-paygo), captured 2026-07-29: ≤512K input band $0.30/M input, $0.06/M cache read, $1.20/M output; >512K band $0.60/$0.12/$2.40. The page labels these rates 'Permanent 50% off' with the struck-through list price at exactly 2x ($0.60/$0.12/$2.40 for the ≤512K band) and states no end date. Foundry's 'FW MiniMax 3' Data Zone meters are 1.1x the discounted rate, not the list rate. No cache-write dimension is published for M3.

Direct vs Foundry

Same-model deployment markup

How much more Microsoft Foundry charges for this exact model, over this Direct rate.

Not available — no Microsoft Foundry listing exists for this exact model in the catalog.

Cost-comparable

Other lanes within ±25% of this workload's cost

Same provider first, then ranked by cost proximity, for 60M in / 210K out. This is a cost ranking only — never a quality recommendation.

MiniMax M2.7
MiniMax · MiniMax direct APISame provider
Direct API
$5.29
CHF 4.26
$0.00 (0%) vs this lane
MiniMax 3
MiniMax · Fireworks-hostedSame provider
Foundry ·Data Zone
$5.82
CHF 4.69
+$0.529 (+10%) vs this lane
MiniMax M2.5
MiniMax · Fireworks-hostedSame provider
Foundry ·Data Zone
$4.04
CHF 3.25
-$1.25 (-24%) vs this lane
DeepSeek-V4 Pro
DeepSeek · DeepSeek direct API
Direct API
$5.56
CHF 4.48
+$0.272 (+5%) vs this lane
GPT-5.6 Luna Long Context
OpenAI / Azure OpenAI
Foundry ·Global
$4.94
CHF 3.98
-$0.354 (-7%) vs this lane
Qwen3.6 Plus
Qwen · Model Studio (Intl)
Direct API
$6.33
CHF 5.10
+$1.04 (+20%) vs this lane