IBM Granite 4.2 3B vs MiniMax M3.1 Flash: Specs & Benchmark Comparison
IBM Granite 4.2 3B is developed by IBM, while MiniMax M3.1 Flash comes from MiniMax. IBM Granite 4.2 3B was released in August 2026, and MiniMax M3.1 Flash followed 2 months later in October 2026. IBM Granite 4.2 3B has a published size of about 3 billion parameters; MiniMax has not disclosed the parameter count of MiniMax M3.1 Flash.
We have 13 benchmark results for IBM Granite 4.2 3B and 15 benchmark results for MiniMax M3.1 Flash, but they were measured on different benchmarks, so there is no like-for-like scoreboard.
IBM Granite 4.2 3B is the cheaper API at $0.03 per million input tokens and $0.12 per million output tokens, roughly 5 times cheaper than MiniMax M3.1 Flash at $0.15 and $0.60. MiniMax M3.1 Flash takes the larger context window at 1M tokens, compared with 131K for IBM Granite 4.2 3B. IBM Granite 4.2 3B accepts text as input, while MiniMax M3.1 Flash accepts text, images, and video. On tooling, only MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports function calling and only MiniMax M3.1 Flash offers structured output.
| Characteristic | IBM Granite 4.2 3B | MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Company | IBM | MiniMax |
| Release Date | August 25, 2026 | October 19, 2026 |
| Parameters | 3B | — |
| Multimodal | No | Yes |
| Context (input) | 131K | 1.0M |
| Context (output) | 131K | 524K |
| Input Price / 1M | $0.03 | $0.15 |
| Output Price / 1M | $0.12 | $0.60 |
| Average Score | 55.7% | 56.4% |
Verdict
MiniMax M3.1 Flash leads in 2 out of 4 comparison categories.
Both models show comparable average scores: IBM Granite 4.2 3B — 0.6, MiniMax M3.1 Flash — 0.6.
IBM Granite 4.2 3B is 5.0x cheaper: input $0.03/1M vs $0.15/1M tokens.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash supports a larger context: 1M vs 131K tokens.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash is newer: released 10/19/2026 vs 8/25/2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better for coding — IBM Granite 4.2 3B or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
Which model is cheaper — IBM Granite 4.2 3B or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
Which has a larger context window — IBM Granite 4.2 3B or MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
The IBM Granite 4.2 3B and MiniMax M3.1 Flash comparison is updated for 2026. Data includes benchmark results, API pricing, context window size and other specifications. For more detailed information, visit the IBM Granite 4.2 3B or MiniMax M3.1 Flash page. See also the complete list of AI model comparisons.