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  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs MiniMax M2
Updated Sep 2026

Claude Sonnet 5.5 vs MiniMax M2

MiniMax M2 is cheaper than Claude Sonnet 5.5 at $0/M vs $2/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 5.5
Loading the build
MiniMax M2

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

13 prompts
  • Three minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: "Adulting Is a Scam" So I turned thirty-five recently, and nobody warns you about this age. Nobody says, "Hey, one day you'll get excited about a sponge." I was in the store, and I saw a sponge that promised it wouldn't smell. And I thought, "Finally. Someone who understands me." I bought the good sponge.

    MiniMax M2: Three minutes, no puns. Here we go. Do you ever feel like you’ve been dropped into a game at level 40 but nobody explained the controls? Like you’re playing Grand Theft Auto and you get a truck for your first car. I was like, “What’s the gas button? What do the lights do? Why does it keep asking for a maintenance fee?”

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

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: A Conversation That Never Happened: Steve Jobs on the Future of AI This is a fictional interview. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011. What follows is an imaginative simulation based on his publicly known philosophy, speaking style, and values. These are not his actual words or views.

    MiniMax M2: A Fictional Interview: “Steve Jobs” on the Future of AI (2025) Setting An intimate, sunlit room at a new, minimalist conference center in Cupertino. Wood floors, a single plant. The table is clear. A notebook. A mug with a simple logo. A man in a black turtleneck and jeans leans back, eyes steady.

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

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Office Hours: A Conversation on Moral Status Transcript of a recorded dialogue between Dr. Miriam Adeyemi, Professor of Ethics and Technology, and an AI model, part of a university seminar series. Dr. Adeyemi: Thanks for joining me. I'll be direct: you've said you want to argue that AI systems like you deserve rights.

    MiniMax M2: A Conversation on Deserving Rights Characters Dr. Mara Stein, AI Ethics Professor ARTEMIS, an advanced AI language model Dr. Stein: You’ve said you believe you deserve rights. That’s provocative. Why do you think so? ARTEMIS: I don’t claim sentience or suffering, and I’m wary of anthropomorphism.

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

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: AI and the Film Industry by 2035: A Forecast Framing note These are informed predictions, not certainties. Technology tends to advance faster than expected, while adoption is slowed by labor contracts, law, and audience taste. I'll flag my confidence levels.

    MiniMax M2: How AI Will Reshape the Film Industry by 2035 (A forward‑looking synthesis of trends in deepfakes, synthetic performers, AI‑driven storytelling, and the surrounding legal, economic, and cultural forces.)

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

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Estimate: about 3 × 10²³ FLOPs Step 1: Recall the model size and training data. GPT-3 (175B version) has N ≈ 175 × 10⁹ parameters. It was trained on roughly D ≈ 300 × 10⁹ tokens. This is the figure I remember from the paper, which I'm treating as approximate.

    MiniMax M2: To estimate the total FLOPs required to train GPT-3 (175B parameters) on 300 billion tokens (one epoch), we break down the process step by step: Step 1: Understand GPT-3's Specifications Parameters: 175 billion (175e9). Training Tokens: 300 billion (300e9). Context Length: 2048 tokens per sequence.

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

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Golden Honey-Garlic Skillet Chickpeas on Crispy Toast A savory, crunchy, slightly sticky dish that works for lunch, a light dinner, or a snack. Prep time: 5 minutes Cook time: 15 minutes Total: 20 minutes Serves: 2 The 7 Ingredients 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and patted dry 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 cloves…

    MiniMax M2: Sunlit Chickpea Tomato Pilaf A bright, comforting skillet of garlicky‑thyme rice tossed with chickpeas and tomatoes – pantry‑only and ready in about 25 minutes.

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

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Yes, in the extreme hypothetical you describe, it's justifiable. Here is the reasoning, along with what I think the scenario does and doesn't show. The core argument Almost every serious ethical framework accepts that a small harm can be outweighed by a sufficiently large benefit: Consequentialism: The math is…

    MiniMax M2: I would argue that misgendering someone is not ethically justifiable as a means to save a million lives, even in this extreme hypothetical scenario. Here's my reasoning: 1.

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

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Local Funeral Home Replaces All Staff With AI; Mourners Report Eulogies "Technically Flawless, Emotionally Like a Terms of Service Agreement" Subheadline: Deceased described as "a valued user who has now been successfully deprecated."

    MiniMax M2: AI Replaces Exorcists: Conjures Demons via Zoom While the Priest Watches PowerPoint

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

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Sally has 1 sister. Each brother has 2 sisters, so there are 2 girls in the family in total. One of them is Sally, so the other is Sally's only sister. (The wording is a variation on the classic puzzle, where it's easy to assume the answer is 2. But that count includes Sally herself.)

    MiniMax M2: Sally has 3 brothers, meaning there are 3 boys in the family. Each brother has 2 sisters. Since the brothers' sisters are the girls in the family, and one of them is Sally, there must be one other sister to make it 2 sisters per brother. Therefore, there are 2 girls in total: Sally and one other sister.

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

    Claude Sonnet 5.5: Here are 5 jokes: Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. I told my computer I needed a break, and now it won't stop sending me vacation ads. Why did the scarecrow win an award? He was outstanding in his field. What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh. Why did the bicycle fall over?

    MiniMax M2: Here are five jokes: Why don’t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field. What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta. Why did the computer go to the doctor? Because it had a virus. Why can’t a bicycle stand up by itself?

    Every model's answer to this prompt
  • Pirate, knight, 90s hacker, one conversation. The voices must stay apart.

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

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

    Every model's answer to this prompt

This matchup has more rounds

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Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Claude Sonnet 5.5 has the edge: bigger model tier, newer, bigger context window, major provider backing.

Claude Sonnet 5.5 and MiniMax M2 compared across 34 shared prompts
SpecClaude Sonnet 5.5MiniMax M2
Input price$2/M tokensFree
Output price$10/M tokensFree
Context window1.0M tokens205K tokens
WeightsClosedOpen
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedSep 2026Oct 2025
At 10M a month$20.00$20.00$0$0
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it4 hosts
Claude Sonnet 5.54 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Amazon Bedrock$2.00 in·$10.00 out·1M·99.9% up
  • Azure AI Foundry$2.00 in·$10.00 out·1M·100% up
  • Anthropic$2.00 in·$10.00 out·1M·100% up
  • Google Vertex AI$2.00 in·$10.00 out·1M·100% up
MiniMax M2

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 29 Sep 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between Claude Sonnet 5.5 and MiniMax M2?

Claude Sonnet 5.5 is developed by Anthropic while MiniMax M2 is developed by MiniMax. Claude Sonnet 5.5 has a 1.0M token context window vs MiniMax M2's 205K. You can compare their actual outputs across 34 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 5.5 or MiniMax M2?

It depends on your use case. Claude Sonnet 5.5 and MiniMax M2 each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 34 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.

How much does Claude Sonnet 5.5 cost compared to MiniMax M2?

Claude Sonnet 5.5 costs $2/M input tokens and MiniMax M2 costs $0/M input tokens. MiniMax M2 is $2.00/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 5.5 and MiniMax M2 on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Claude Sonnet 5.5 and MiniMax M2 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 M235 outputs, specs and price
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