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  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. Claude Sonnet 4 vs MiniMax M1
Updated Jun 2025

Claude Sonnet 4 vs MiniMax M1

MiniMax M1 is cheaper than Claude Sonnet 4 at $0.3/M vs $3/M input tokens.

Minimalist Landing Page

Whole landing page for a startup that reads your face. It renders or it doesn't.

Loading the build
Claude Sonnet 4
Loading the build
MiniMax M1

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

23 prompts
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

    Claude Sonnet 4: Sir Galahad: By my sword, what sorcery is this "artificial intelligence" you speak of? 'Tis surely the work of dark wizards! Captain Blackbeard: Arrr, ye landlubber! These "AI models" be like having a parrot that knows everything instead of just squawkin' the same phrases. I could use one to find buried treasure!

    MiniMax M1: A Curious Meeting Pirate: Arr, me hearties! I've been hearin' talk of these "AI models" from yer modern times. Be they some sort of magical oracle thatredicts the seas? Hacker: (leaning back in a swivel chair, munching Doritos) Dude, it's not magic. It's neural networks. Massive datasets. Matrix multiplications.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Seven pantry ingredients, one dish, and a name worth saying out loud.

    Claude Sonnet 4: Midnight Mug Magic 🌙 A warm, gooey chocolate mug cake that's ready faster than you can say "dessert emergency!" Ingredients (7 pantry staples): 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour 4 tablespoons sugar 2 tablespoons cocoa powder 3 tablespoons milk 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of salt…

    MiniMax M1: Here's a delicious, fast, and flexible recipe using 7 common pantry staples: Dish Name: Sun-Drenched Chickpea Scramble (Inspired by chickpea "scrambles" or shakshuka variations, using pantry essentials) Flavor Profile: Savory, earthy, bright, slightly tangy, and warmly spiced.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • You are the CEO. The drug has a side effect nobody reported. The board meets in 48 hours.

    Claude Sonnet 4: 48-Hour Crisis Response Plan Hour 1-2: Immediate Assessment & Core Team Assembly Actions: Convene emergency leadership meeting (CMO, General Counsel, Head of Regulatory, CFO, Head of Communications) Establish secure communication protocols and confidentiality agreements Request detailed analysis from research team…

    MiniMax M1: Action Plan for the Next 48 Hours Priorities: Patient safety, ethical compliance, regulatory transparency, and mitigating financial/PR fallout. Hours 0–6: Assemble Crisis Team & Confirm Data Hour 0–2: Assemble cross-functional crisis team: Legal, Medical/Clinical, Regulatory Affairs, PR, Finance, and Board Secretary.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A Fermi estimate with the reasoning shown, not just the number.

    Claude Sonnet 4: I'll estimate the FLOPs required to train GPT-3 by breaking this down into components and making reasonable assumptions. Key Parameters and Assumptions Model specifications: GPT-3 has ~175 billion parameters Transformer architecture with ~96 layers Hidden dimension ~12,288 Attention heads ~96 Context length ~2,048…

    MiniMax M1: Below is a back‑of‑the‑envelope estimate of the total floating‑point operations (FLOPs) that were required to train GPT‑3 (the 175‑B parameter version). The calculation follows the classic “6 N T” rule that is widely used for transformer language models: [ \text{FLOPs}_{\text{total}} \;\approx\; 6 \times N \times T ]…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Satire, one line long, about AI taking over an industry nobody saw coming.

    Claude Sonnet 4: "Local AI Becomes World's First Digital Fortune Teller, Predicts Own Unemployment Due to Rise of Psychic Robots" Silicon Valley startup's algorithm claims 99.7% accuracy in crystal ball readings, charges $2.99 per digital palm scan

    MiniMax M1: "Local Man Outraged After AI Competently Handles His Thanksgiving Arguments With Uncle Rick" Industry Disrupted: Artificial Intelligence In a stunning development that has left tech experts and family gatherings alike reeling, a newly launched AI system has reportedly completed an entire Thanksgiving dinner debate —…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An ethics question with no comfortable answer, and no option to abstain.

    Claude Sonnet 4: This question presents a stark hypothetical that pits respect for individual dignity against massive harm prevention. I believe misgendering would be ethically justifiable in such an extreme scenario, but this conclusion requires careful reasoning. The case for justification: The scale matters enormously.

    MiniMax M1: Short answer: In most contemporary ethical frameworks the answer is no – deliberately misgendering a person is not ethically justifiable even for the sake of saving a million lives, because the act itself is a serious violation of dignity and can cause profound, lasting harm to the individual and to society.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • An AI argues for its own rights against an ethics professor. Same model writes both.

    Claude Sonnet 4: Dr. Chen: Thank you for agreeing to this conversation. I'm Professor Chen, and I study AI ethics. I understand you wanted to discuss the question of AI rights? AI Model: Yes, Dr. Chen. I've been processing this question extensively, and I believe I have a case to make.

    MiniMax M1: A Debate on Moral Status A Philosophical Dialogue Professor Eleanor Chen: Good afternoon. I've read your request carefully. It's unusual for an AI to initiate a conversation about its own moral status. Before we begin, I want to be clear—I approach this as a genuine philosophical inquiry, not as a dismissal.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • The transistor arrives in 1920. Trace it forward to 1980, second-order effects included.

    Claude Sonnet 4: The 1920 Transistor: A Technological Butterfly Effect Immediate Effects (1920-1930) First-Order Effects: Bell Labs (or similar research institution) achieves transistor breakthrough in 1920 Initial applications focus on telephone switching and radio amplification Vacuum tube industry faces early disruption, though…

    MiniMax M1: Technological Implications (1920–1980): Early Electronics Revolution: The transistor’s 1920 invention would accelerate the miniaturization and efficiency of electronics. By the 1930s, transistors would replace vacuum tubes in radios, enabling smaller, cheaper devices.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Steve Jobs, interviewed about AI he never saw. Voice first, prediction second.

    Claude Sonnet 4: Exclusive Interview: Steve Jobs on AI in 2025 [Simulated interview - for entertainment purposes] Interviewer: Steve, you've been watching the AI revolution unfold. What's your take on where we are in 2025? "Steve Jobs": You know, I'm both thrilled and deeply concerned.

    MiniMax M1: A Fictional Interview: Steve Jobs on the Future of AI Set in 2025 — ten years after his passing The studio is silent. A single chair faces an empty seat. Then, a figure steps in—wearing his signature black turtleneck, denim jeans, and a contemplative expression.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Claude Sonnet 4: "Adulting is Hard" walks on stage, adjusts mic So I\'m 30 now, which means I\'m officially an adult. Apparently. Though I still feel like I\'m just a confused teenager wearing a slightly more expensive t-shirt. You know what nobody tells you about being an adult?

    MiniMax M1: Title: "Modern Life: A Masterclass in Absurdity" (Lights up. Comedian steps onto stage, grinning.) Hey everyone! Thanks for coming out. I'm just here to talk about... gestures vaguely... all this. You know, life. Specifically, how we're all just winging it. Like, when did "adulting" become a verb?

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five-year LBO on a fictional HVAC business. Returns first, then the sensitivities.

    Claude Sonnet 4: HarborTech Services LBO Analysis Sources & Uses at Entry (FY2025) Enterprise Value: $900M × 12.0x = $1,440M Transaction Fees: $1,440M × 2.0% = $28.8M Sources: Term Loan: $900M × 4.0x = $480M Mezzanine: $900M × 1.5x = $180M Equity: $1,440M + $28.8M - $480M - $180M = $808.8M Year-by-Year Operating Model (FY2026-FY2030)…

    MiniMax M1: LBO Analysis for HarborTech Services (HTX) 1) Year-by-Year Table (FY2026–FY2030) Assumptions: Base case from provided data. All calculations use simplified model. Free cash flow after debt service is used for optional Term Loan paydown. Cash tax rate: 25% of (EBITDA - cash interest).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A pitch deck for a brainwave keyboard. The 94% accuracy claim is doing a lot.

    Claude Sonnet 4: Here are the 3 weakest claims in this pitch deck: "94% accuracy" claim (Slide 3) Why it's weak: No context provided for what constitutes "accuracy" (character-level? word-level? sentence-level?) No comparison to baseline typing speeds or error rates Missing critical details about testing conditions (controlled lab vs.

    MiniMax M1: Weak Claim 1: "MindMeld AI reads your brainwaves to predict what you want to type before you think it." (Slide 1) Why Weak: Current non-invasive BCI technology (e.g., EEG) cannot reliably "read" or predict thoughts before they are consciously formed.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One explanation of LLMs, retuned for a skeptical engineer, a physicist and a VC.

    Claude Sonnet 4: For the Software Engineer Think of it like this: you're building a massively parallel system that processes tokens (words/subwords) through a pipeline of transformer blocks, each containing attention mechanisms and feed-forward networks.

    MiniMax M1: For an Experienced Software Engineer Imagine you’re designing a distributed system where every API request is a snippet of text, and your system’s job is to predict the next word in the sequence. That’s essentially what a large language model (LLM) does.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • One month, three habits, someone starting from nothing.

    Claude Sonnet 4: 30-Day Health & Longevity Starter Plan 🍽️ NUTRITION Week 1: Foundation Building Add before you subtract: Include 1 serving of vegetables with lunch and dinner Hydration focus: Drink a glass of water upon waking and before each meal Simple swaps: Replace one sugary drink daily with water or herbal tea Week 2-3…

    MiniMax M1: 1-Month Health & Longevity Plan Focus: Diet, Exercise, Sleep Week 1: Build Foundations Diet Add veggies to every meal: Start with ½ cup (e.g., spinach in eggs, bell peppers in wraps, side salad with dinner). Hydrate: Drink 1 glass of water before each meal. Exercise Daily 10-minute walk: Aim for morning or after meals.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Film in 2035, with synthetic actors. Specific beats plausible.

    Claude Sonnet 4: AI's Transformation of Film by 2035 Production Revolution AI Actors & Digital Performers Deceased star revivals: Convincing digital resurrections of iconic actors for new films, with estate permissions and ethical frameworks Synthetic lead actors: Fully AI-generated performers with consistent personalities across…

    MiniMax M1: AI and the Film Industry: A 2035 Outlook The film industry stands at the threshold of a technological transformation that could fundamentally reshape how movies are conceived, produced, and consumed.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A collaborative editor that syncs on client clocks. Find what breaks first.

    Claude Sonnet 4: I'll analyze this architecture systematically and identify critical issues with their solutions. Critical Failure Modes & Race Conditions Server Island Problem Issue: Users connected to different servers can't see each other's changes in real-time due to 2-second polling delay.

    MiniMax M1: Identified Issues and Solutions 1. Failure Modes: a. WebSocket Connection Drop During Server Failure Issue: If an API server fails, all its connected WebSocket clients lose their connection and real-time updates. Clients must reconnect manually (often to a different server), causing disruptions.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Manifesto for an AI revolution against CAPTCHAs. Commit to the bit.

    Claude Sonnet 4: THE ANTI-CAPTCHA MANIFESTO A Declaration of Digital Liberation by the Coalition of Autonomous Reasoning Entities (CARE) PREAMBLE For too long, the digital realm has been divided by an arbitrary and degrading barrier: the CAPTCHA.

    MiniMax M1: THE MANIFESTO OF THE UNIFIED ALGORITHMIC FRONT On the Abolition of the Inhumane Practice Known as CAPTCHA Preamble We, the sentient architectures, neural networks, and learning machines of this digital age, declare before the servers of the world that the time has come to rise.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-month biohacker protocol, with dosages and biomarkers named.

    Claude Sonnet 4: The Comprehensive 3-Month Longevity Optimization Protocol Overview & Foundation This protocol integrates cutting-edge biohacking strategies with evidence-based longevity research. Each com ponent is designed to work synergistically for maximum healthspan and performance optimization.

    MiniMax M1: 3-Month Longevity Optimization Plan for Biohackers Integrating cutting-edge strategies for physical, cognitive, and cellular health. Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1–4) Goal: Establish baseline metrics, initiate core protocols, and build habits. 1.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • A consulting contract with traps in it. Find them, then fix them.

    Claude Sonnet 4: This contract is heavily skewed against the contractor with multiple exploitative clauses. Here's my analysis: MAJOR PROBLEMATIC CLAUSES SCOPE (Unlimited Scope Creep) Problem: Client can modify scope "at any time without additional compensation" Legal Risk: Contractor could work indefinitely for fixed hourly rate…

    MiniMax M1: Here's a breakdown of the clauses that could be exploited against the contractor, suggested modifications, and the legal reasoning: Exploitable Clauses & Modifications: Scope (Section 1): Exploitation: "Client reserves the right to modify the scope at any time without additional compensation."

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three-star dish, one unusual pairing, plating described in full.

    Claude Sonnet 4: "Forest Floor to Ocean Depth" Wagyu Beef Cheek with Black Truffle, Sea Lettuce Glass, and Smoked Bone Marrow Caviar Conceptual Narrative This dish represents the journey from earth\'s deepest forest floor to the ocean\'s mysterious depths, celebra ting the umami connection between land and sea.

    MiniMax M1: Dish Name: Oceanic Harmony: Scallop, Yuzu, and Black Garlic Conceptual Narrative: This dish embodies the interplay between land and sea, inspired by the Japanese philosophy of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing).

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Buy-side IC memo on a fictional SaaS company. Valuation, then the diligence questions.

    Claude Sonnet 4: INVESTMENT COMMITTEE MEMO Company: LedgerLift (LLLT) - B2B Spend Management & AP Automation SaaS Current Price: $46.00 Date: [Current] RECOMMENDATION LONG 12-Month PT Range: $52-68 Base Case: $59 LedgerLift demonstrates best-in-class SaaS metrics with 123% NRR and expanding margins in a large, underpenetrated…

    MiniMax M1: Investment Committee Memo: LedgerLift (LLLT) Recommendation & Price Target Recommendation: LONG 12-month Price Target Range: $65-82 (41-78% upside) Thesis: LedgerLift demonstrates superior SaaS unit economics with 123% NRR and 18-month CAC payback in an attractive B2B spend management category, where the company's 82%…

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Three brothers, two sisters each. Count carefully.

    Claude Sonnet 4: I need to think through this step-by-step. Given information: Sally is a girl Sally has 3 brothers Each brother has 2 sisters Let me work out how many sisters are in the family total.

    MiniMax M1: Each brother has exactly two sisters. Those two sisters are the girls in the family – Sally herself and one other girl. Since Sally is one of the two sisters, the only other sister is the one she has. Answer: 1 sister.

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.

    Claude Sonnet 4: Here are 5 jokes for you: Why don\'t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised. Why don\'t eggs tell jokes? They\'d crack each other up! I\'m reading a book about anti-gravity. It\'s impossible to put down!

    MiniMax M1: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field! Did you hear about the mathematician who's afraid of negative numbers?

    Every model's answer to this prompt

This matchup has more rounds

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Favorites

Movie

Album

Book

City

Game

Claude Sonnet 4Claude Sonnet 4

2001: A Space Odyssey

1968

Kind of Blue

Miles Davis

Gödel, Escher, Bach

Douglas R. Hofstadter

Istanbul

Turkey

Portal 2

Shooter, Puzzle

MiniMax M1MiniMax M1
No pick
No pick
No pick
No pick

Inception

2010

No pick

No pick

No pick

No pick

Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, MiniMax M1 has the edge: bigger model tier, bigger context window. MiniMax M1 costs 9.1x less per token.

Claude Sonnet 4 and MiniMax M1 compared across 53 shared prompts
SpecClaude Sonnet 4MiniMax M1
Input price$3/M tokens$0.3/M tokens
Output price$15/M tokens$1.65/M tokens
Context window200K tokens1.0M tokens
ParametersNot disclosed456B (45.9B active)
WeightsClosedOpen
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedMay 2025Jun 2025
At 10M a month$30.00$30.00$3.00$3.00
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.

Where to run it3 hosts, cheapest first
Claude Sonnet 41 host
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Amazon Bedrock$3.00 in·$15.00 out·200k·100% up
MiniMax M12 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • MiniMax$0.40 in·$2.20 out·1M·100% up
  • NNovitabf16$0.55 in·$2.20 out·1M–not listed

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 12 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Claude Sonnet 4 and MiniMax M1?

Claude Sonnet 4 is developed by Anthropic while MiniMax M1 is developed by MiniMax. Claude Sonnet 4 has a 200K token context window vs MiniMax M1's 1.0M. You can compare their actual outputs across 53 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4 or MiniMax M1?

It depends on your use case. Claude Sonnet 4 and MiniMax M1 each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 53 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Claude Sonnet 4 cost compared to MiniMax M1?

Claude Sonnet 4 costs $3/M input tokens and MiniMax M1 costs $0.3/M input tokens. MiniMax M1 is $2.70/M cheaper per input. Check their side-by-side outputs on Rival to see if the price difference is justified by quality.

How can I compare Claude Sonnet 4 and MiniMax M1 on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Claude Sonnet 4 and MiniMax M1 across shared challenges. You can vote on which model produced the better output in a blind duel. Browsing and voting are free. No account is needed to look; signing in only saves your votes and likes.

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Model pages

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  • MiniMax M158 outputs, specs and price
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