Choose DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 if…
No advantage on the data we track — pick it for provider preference or output quality on your own prompts.
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 vs MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash comes out ahead on the data we track: 3 advantages and none for DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017.
Key numbers
| Spec | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 | MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | DeepSeek | Minimax |
| Input price (per 1M tokens) | $0.30 | $0.15 |
| Output price (per 1M tokens) | $1.20 | $0.60 |
| Blended price (3:1 input/output) | $0.52 | $0.26 |
| Cheaper than … of all models we track | 51% | 65% |
| Context window | 1.0M tokens (~1,573 pages) | 1.0M tokens (~1,573 pages) |
| Larger context than … of all models | 80% | 80% |
| Max output per response | 393K tokens (~294,900 words) | 524K tokens (~393,200 words) |
| Input types | text, image | text, image, video |
| Output types | text | text |
| Free variant | No | Yes |
| Listed since | 2026-10-17 | 2026-10-19 |
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What it costs for real workloads
Monthly cost at list price for five common workloads. Token counts per unit are stated so you can scale them to your own traffic. A workload that does not fit a model's context window is marked rather than priced.
| Workload (per month) | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 | MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer-support chatbot 50,000 conversations — each a 6-turn conversation (1,500 in / 400 out tokens) | $46.50 | $23.25 | MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash saves $23.25 |
| RAG search over documents 20,000 questions — each a question answered from ~8 retrieved passages (6,000 in / 500 out tokens) | $48.00 | $24.00 | MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash saves $24.00 |
| Coding / tool-using agent 2,000 tasks — each a multi-step task with tool calls and file context (60,000 in / 6,000 out tokens) | $50.40 | $25.20 | MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash saves $25.20 |
| Batch summarisation 10,000 documents — each a 6,000-word report summarised to a page (8,000 in / 600 out tokens) | $31.20 | $15.60 | MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash saves $15.60 |
| Long-document analysis 500 documents — each a 150-page contract or codebase read in one pass (100,000 in / 2,000 out tokens) | $16.20 | $8.10 | MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash saves $8.10 |
Capabilities side by side
| Capability | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 | MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash | What it lets you do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tool / function calling | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | call your APIs and run agent loops |
| Structured output (JSON schema) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | return JSON that validates against your schema |
| Reasoning / thinking mode | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | spend extra tokens thinking before answering hard problems |
| Image input | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | read screenshots, charts and scanned pages |
| Audio input | — | — | take speech or audio directly |
| File / PDF input | — | — | accept documents without your own parsing step |
| Image output | — | — | generate images, not just text |
| Built-in web search | — | — | answer from live web results |
| Seed (reproducible sampling) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | repeat a generation for tests and evals |
| Log-probabilities | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | read token confidence for classification and scoring |
From each model's published parameters and input/output types. “—” means not advertised, not proven absent.
Price history
- DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017: input price raised 50% ($0.15 → $0.30/1M), output price raised 50% ($0.60 → $1.20/1M) on 2026-10-19.
- MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash: price unchanged since we started tracking it on 2026-10-23.
| Date | Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-19 | DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 | $0.30 | $1.20 |
Which should you choose?
Choose MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash if…
- cost matters at scale — it is 50% cheaper on a typical 3:1 input/output mix ($23.25 vs $46.50 a month for 50,000 support chats)
- you generate long outputs in one go — up to 524K tokens (about 393,200 words) per response
- you want to prototype at zero cost — a free variant is listed
Frequently asked questions
Is DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 better than MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash comes out ahead on the data we track: 3 advantages and none for DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 or MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash is cheaper: $0.26 vs $0.52 per 1M tokens at a typical 3:1 input/output mix, 50% less. For 50,000 support conversations a month that is $23.25 against $46.50.
How much do DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 and MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash cost per million tokens?
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 costs $0.30 per 1M input tokens and $1.20 per 1M output tokens; MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.15 input and $0.60 output. Output tokens are billed separately, so long answers shift the gap.
Which has the bigger context window, DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 or MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
Both take 1.0M tokens per request — roughly 1,573 pages of text.
Do DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 and MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash support function calling and JSON output?
Tool calling — DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017: yes, MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash: yes. JSON-schema structured output — DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017: yes, MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash: yes.
Can DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 or MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash read images?
Yes, both accept image input.
Is DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 or MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash free to use?
MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash has a free variant (minimax/minimax-m3.1-flash:free). Free variants usually carry tighter rate limits.
What is the maximum output length of DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 and MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash?
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 can write up to 393K tokens (about 294,900 words) per response; MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash up to 524K (about 393,200 words).
When were DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 and MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash released?
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 was listed on 2026-10-17; MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash on 2026-10-19.
Has the price of DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 or MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash changed?
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017: input price raised 50% ($0.15 → $0.30/1M), output price raised 50% ($0.60 → $1.20/1M) on 2026-10-19. MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash: price unchanged since we started tracking it on 2026-10-23.
About the two models
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017
DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 is the October 17, 2026 snapshot of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash, served by DeepSeek under the `deepseek-flash` API model name. V4.1 Flash is a sparse mixture-of-experts model...
Full DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 specs →MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is a multimodal model from MiniMax. Compared with M3, it delivers significant improvements across multiple benchmarks, particularly in complex agentic tasks, coding, and cybersecurity. It is built for complex,...
Full MiniMax: MiniMax M3.1 Flash specs →