MiniMax M3 vs DeepSeek Flash (V4.1 Flash 1017): API pricing and agent cost
| Model | Provider | Input $/1M | Output $/1M | Cached $/1M | Per task | Per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MiniMax M3 | MiniMax | $0.3 | $1.2 | $0.06 | $0.0093 | $27.90 |
| DeepSeek Flash (V4.1 Flash 1017) | DeepSeek | $0.3 | $1.2 | $0.006 | $0.0093 | $27.90 |
For an agent making 5 tool calls per task (3,000 input and 800 output tokens per call) and running 100 tasks a day, MiniMax M3 is the cheaper option at $27.90 a month, versus $27.90 for DeepSeek Flash (V4.1 Flash 1017) (1.0× the cost).
This compares list prices only, not quality. API model MiniMax-M3, standard tier, prompts up to 512K input tokens (price includes MiniMax's permanent 50% discount). Above 512K: $0.60/$2.40 ($0.12 cached). Priority tier is 1.5x standard. API model deepseek-flash, served by DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash-1017. Peak-hour price; off-peak $0.15/$0.60. Open-weights model. Server-side Search/Fetch tool calls (e.g. via Claude Code or Codex) cost $0.75 per 1K requests starting Nov 1, 2026.
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