Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs MiniMax-M2.1
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
MiniMax-M2.1 by MiniMax wins on 6 of 8 benchmarks against Claude Sonnet 4.5 by Anthropic, which leads on 2. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from our benchmark data.
Category-by-Category Breakdown
Coding: In coding, MiniMax-M2.1 scores 1198 on Design Arena ELO compared to Claude Sonnet 4.5's 1184, while MiniMax-M2.1 scores 1213 on Website Arena ELO compared to Claude Sonnet 4.5's 1202.
Reasoning: In reasoning, MiniMax-M2.1 scores 85.2% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Sonnet 4.5's 82.5%, while Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 73.0% on τ²-Bench Airline compared to MiniMax-M2.1's 66.6%.
Context: In context, Claude Sonnet 4.5 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to MiniMax-M2.1's 205K.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while MiniMax-M2.1 costs $0.30/1M input and $1.2/1M output. MiniMax-M2.1 is the more affordable option for API usage.
Verdict
MiniMax-M2.1 leads across the board in affordability, making it the stronger overall choice in this comparison.
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Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs MiniMax-M2.1 — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or MiniMax-M2.1?
MiniMax-M2.1 wins on more benchmarks overall (6 vs 2). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Claude Sonnet 4.5 compare to MiniMax-M2.1 for coding?
SWE-bench Verified data is not available for both models. Check the detailed comparison charts above for other coding-related metrics.
Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 cheaper than MiniMax-M2.1?
Yes, MiniMax-M2.1 is cheaper. Claude Sonnet 4.5 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens. MiniMax-M2.1 costs $0.30/1M input and $1.2/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or MiniMax-M2.1?
Output speed data is not available for both models. Check the speed section of the comparison above for available performance data.
What benchmarks does the Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs MiniMax-M2.1 comparison cover?
This comparison covers 8 benchmarks including GPQA Diamond, Input Cost, Output Cost, Context Length, Cached Input Cost, Design Arena ELO, τ²-Bench Airline, Website Arena ELO. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.