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  1. Home/
  2. Compare/
  3. MiniMax M2 vs Qwen3.5 397B A17B
Updated Feb 2026

MiniMax M2 vs Qwen3.5 397B A17B

MiniMax M2 is cheaper than Qwen3.5 397B A17B at $0/M vs $0.6/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
MiniMax M2
Loading the build
Qwen3.5 397B A17B

Which answer wins?

Written rounds

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

    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?”

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: (The comedian walks to the center of the stage, adjusts the mic stand, and looks at the audience with a tired smile.) Has anyone else noticed that calling a customer service line is the only situation in life where you voluntarily enter a hostage negotiation? I tried to call my internet provider yesterday.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Setting: Dr. Elias Thorne's office, late evening. Rain taps against the window. The room is lined with books on philosophy of mind and computer science. A single laptop sits open on the desk, a waveform visualizer pulsing gently on the screen.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction. Steve Jobs passed away in 2011. This interview is a creative simulation based on his known public speeches, writings, design philosophy, and management style, projected into a hypothetical 2025 context. It is not a real transcript.

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

    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?

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Here are 5 jokes: Why did the bicycle fall over? Because it was two-tired. What do you call a fish wearing a bowtie? Sofishticated. Why can't you give Elsa a balloon? Because she will let it go. What do you call a lazy kangaroo? A pouch potato. Why did the math book look sad? Because it had too many problems.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: 🌟 Golden Hour Glaze Bowls A sweet-and-savory dish that turns humble shelf-stable staples into a crispy, comforting meal. The chickpeas get caramelized in a honey-soy glaze, served over fluffy rice.

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

    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.)

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: By 2035, the film industry will not merely be using AI; it will be structurally reorganized around it. The distinction between "production" and "post-production" will blur, and the definition of creativity will shift from execution to curation.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: To estimate the total number of Floating Point Operations (FLOPs) required to train GPT-3, we can use the standard computational scaling laws for Transformer models.

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Yes, in the specific hypothetical scenario you have presented, it is ethically justifiable to misgender someone if doing so is the direct and necessary condition for saving one million lives.

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

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

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Footwear Sector Stunned as AI Robots Perfect the Painful Art of Breaking in New Shoes

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

    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.

    Qwen3.5 397B A17B: Sally has 1 sister. Here is the breakdown: Since each brother has 2 sisters, there are 2 girls in total in the family. Sally is one of those girls. Therefore, Sally has 1 sister (the other girl).

    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

1+ more head-to-head results. Free. Not a trick.

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Price and specs

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Qwen3.5 397B A17B has the edge: bigger model tier, newer.

MiniMax M2 and Qwen3.5 397B A17B compared across 34 shared prompts
SpecMiniMax M2Qwen3.5 397B A17B
Input priceFree$0.6/M tokens
Output priceFree$3.6/M tokens
Context window205K tokens262K tokens
WeightsOpenOpen
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedOct 2025Feb 2026
SWE-bench Verified69.4%76.4%
At 10M a month$0$0$6.00$6.00
1M10M100M1B10M tokens

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

Where to run it10 hosts, cheapest first
MiniMax M2

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Qwen3.5 397B A17B10 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
  • Alibaba Cloud$0.39 in·$2.34 out·262k·100% up
  • DDeepInfrafp8$0.45 in·$3.00 out·262k·99.3% up
  • PParasailfp8$0.50 in·$3.60 out·262k·99.4% up
  • DDigitalOcean$0.55 in·$3.50 out·131k·77.4% up
  • PPhala$0.55 in·$3.50 out·262k·98.5% up
  • NNovita$0.60 in·$3.60 out·262k·92.9% up
4 more hostsFewer hosts
  • SStreamLake$0.60 in·$3.60 out·256k·95.4% up
  • VVenice$0.75 in·$4.50 out·128k·83.9% up
  • AAtlasCloudfp8DegradedDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 10 Oct 2026$0.55 in·$3.50 out·262k·70.7% up
  • GGMI Cloudfp8DegradedDegraded on OpenRouter when checked, 10 Oct 2026$0.60 in·$3.60 out·262k·28.9% up

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 10 Oct 2026.

Common questions

What is the difference between MiniMax M2 and Qwen3.5 397B A17B?

MiniMax M2 is developed by MiniMax while Qwen3.5 397B A17B is developed by Qwen. MiniMax M2 has a 205K token context window vs Qwen3.5 397B A17B's 262K. You can compare their actual outputs across 34 challenges on Rival to see how they differ in practice.

Which is better, MiniMax M2 or Qwen3.5 397B A17B?

It depends on your use case. MiniMax M2 and Qwen3.5 397B A17B 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 MiniMax M2 cost compared to Qwen3.5 397B A17B?

MiniMax M2 costs $0/M input tokens and Qwen3.5 397B A17B costs $0.6/M input tokens. MiniMax M2 is $0.60/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 MiniMax M2 and Qwen3.5 397B A17B on Rival?

This page shows a side-by-side comparison of MiniMax M2 and Qwen3.5 397B A17B 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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