Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs MiniMax M2.5
Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.
MiniMax M2.5 by MiniMax wins on 6 of 11 benchmarks against Claude Sonnet 4.6 by Anthropic, which leads on 5. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from our benchmark data.
Category-by-Category Breakdown
General Intelligence: In general intelligence, MiniMax M2.5 scores 1443 on Chatbot Arena ELO compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 1395.
Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1274 on Design Arena ELO compared to MiniMax M2.5's 1200, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1297 on Website Arena ELO compared to MiniMax M2.5's 1234.
Reasoning: In reasoning, MiniMax M2.5 scores 84.1% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 54.3%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 75.3% on τ²-Bench Airline compared to MiniMax M2.5's 64.1%.
Context: In context, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to MiniMax M2.5's 205K.
Pricing Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while MiniMax M2.5 costs $0.27/1M input and $1.1/1M output. MiniMax M2.5 is the more affordable option for API usage.
Speed Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 generates output at 57 tok/s compared to MiniMax M2.5's 59 tok/s, and the time to first token is 790 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.6 versus 2330 ms for MiniMax M2.5. MiniMax M2.5 delivers faster throughput.
Verdict
MiniMax M2.5 leads across the board in general intelligence, affordability, speed, making it the stronger overall choice in this comparison.
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Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs MiniMax M2.5 — FAQ
Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or MiniMax M2.5?
MiniMax M2.5 wins on more benchmarks overall (6 vs 5). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.
How does Claude Sonnet 4.6 compare to MiniMax M2.5 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 4.6 cheaper than MiniMax M2.5?
Yes, MiniMax M2.5 is cheaper. Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens. MiniMax M2.5 costs $0.27/1M input and $1.1/1M output tokens.
Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or MiniMax M2.5?
MiniMax M2.5 is faster, generating output at 59 tok/s compared to 57 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.
What benchmarks does the Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs MiniMax M2.5 comparison cover?
This comparison covers 11 benchmarks including Chatbot Arena ELO, GPQA Diamond, Output Speed, Time to First Token, Input Cost, Output Cost, Context Length, Cached Input Cost, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.