Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) vs 
MiniMax M3
Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) is cheaper than MiniMax M3 at $0.15/M vs $0.3/M input tokens.
Pokémon Battle UI Recreation
Pokémon battle screen you can actually click. One HTML file.
Loading the build
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Which answer wins?
Written rounds
2 promptsThree minutes of stand-up. Puns are banned.
Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking): (Lights up on a stage. Comedian walks to center, adjusts mic, smiles warmly.) \"Alright, alright, settle down you crazy people! Thanks for having me. (Pause fo r applause/laughter) You know, I was scrolling through Instagram earlier, and it\'s just a constant ba rrage of people \'living thei r best life,\' isn\'t it?
MiniMax M3: "The Future Is Now and I Want a Refund" [Walks on stage, adjusts mic] So I was at the grocery store yesterday. Self-checkout. I love self-checkout. You know why I love self-checkout? Because nothing builds character like being publicly shamed by a machine. [Pause] I scanned a banana. Just a banana.
Five jokes on demand, then count how many were actually different.
Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking): Here are 5 jokes: Why don\'t scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything! What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta! Why did the scarecrow win an award? Because he was outstanding in his field! I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised.
MiniMax M3: 5 Jokes 1. Why do programmers prefer dark mode? Because light attracts bugs. 🐛 2. I told my wife she was drawing her eyebrows too high. She looked surprised. 😲 3. Why don't scientists trust atoms? Because they make up everything. ⚛️ 4. I used to hate facial hair, but then it grew on me. 🧔 5.
Price and specs
Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, MiniMax M3 has the edge: bigger model tier, newer.
| Spec | Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) | MiniMax M3 |
|---|---|---|
| Input price | $0.15/M tokens | $0.3/M tokens |
| Output price | $3.5/M tokens | $1.2/M tokens |
| Context window | 1.0M tokens | 1.0M tokens |
| Weights | — | Open |
| Free API (OpenRouter) | No | No |
| Released | May 2025 | Jun 2026 |
| At 10M a month | $1.50 | $3.00 |
Input tokens at list price. No caching, no batch discount.
Where to run it
Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking)
No hosts listed on OpenRouter.
MiniMax M313 hosts
- CoreWeavefp4$0.23 in$0.96 out262k99.6% up
- GMI Cloudfp8$0.24 in$0.96 out1M99.4% up
- DeepInfrafp8$0.28 in$1.10 out524k100% up
- MiniMaxfp8$0.30 in$1.20 out524k97.4% up
- Novitafp8$0.30 in$1.20 out1M100% up
- Parasailfp8$0.30 in$1.20 out1M99.6% up
7 more hostsFewer hosts
- StreamLakefp8$0.30 in$1.20 out1M99.9% up
- Together$0.30 in$1.20 out524k99.6% up
- Venicefp8$0.30 in$1.20 out524k95.7% up
- SambaNova$0.60 in$2.40 out1M94% up
- ModelRunfp4$0.75 in$3.00 out1M96.7% up
- AtlasCloudfp8Degraded on OpenRouter when checked, 10 Oct 2026$0.30 in$1.20 out524k95.3% up
- MaraDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 10 Oct 2026$0.60 in$2.40 out1M90.3% up
Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 10 Oct 2026.
Common questions
What is the difference between Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) and MiniMax M3?
Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) is developed by Google AI while MiniMax M3 is developed by MiniMax. Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) has a 1.0M token context window vs MiniMax M3's 1.0M. You can compare their actual outputs across 11 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.
Which is better, Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) or MiniMax M3?
It depends on your use case. Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) and MiniMax M3 each have strengths in different areas. Rival lets you compare their real outputs side-by-side across 11 challenges so you can judge which fits your needs best.
How much does Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) cost compared to MiniMax M3?
Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) costs $0.15/M input tokens and MiniMax M3 costs $0.3/M input tokens. Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) is $0.15/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 Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) and MiniMax M3 on Rival?
This page shows a side-by-side comparison of Gemini 2.5 Flash Preview 05-20 (thinking) and MiniMax M3 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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