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MiniMax API

situationalBlueshift — gaining momentum

MiniMax developer API for text, image, video, music and speech models; also powers Hailuo AI video.

Visit platform.minimax.io →Add to kitOpen in Noemium

ledger entry · observed by @whysanesanders

M3 is cheap for high-volume text, and the same platform runs Hailuo video, speech and music. Just watch the pricing: list vs promo rates are unclear, and the open-weight flagship Text-01 has vanished from the main API docs.

Strengths

  • Cheap high-volume text pricing on M3.
  • Same platform exposes video, speech, and music models (Hailuo).
  • Free tier exists for experimentation.

Known limitations

  • The hosted API is proprietary; any open-weight MiniMax models are separate releases.
  • Pricing page lists promo vs standard rates; promo expiration unclear.
  • MiniMax-Text-01, the open-weight flagship, appears deprecated or hidden from main API docs.
  • Western documentation and support are thinner than Qwen/DeepSeek.
  • Long-context input (>512K) is billed at 2× the standard rate.

Use it when

  • High-volume text generation where M3 pricing beats alternatives.
  • Projects that want video, speech, and music from one API vendor.

Skip it when

  • You need clear, stable pricing without promo/standard confusion.
  • The open-weight Text-01 flagship is required for your stack.
  • Western documentation and support are non-negotiable.

Buy-check

  • ·Price — paid, MiniMax-M3 ≤512K context $0.30/$1.20 per 1M (promo 50% off list $0.60/$2.40), >512K 2× rate; M2.5 $0.30/$1.20 per 1M; Text-01 not listed on current API docs as of 2026-08-19. Open the pricing page, not a screenshot.
  • ·Free tier — Free tier exists — burn it first.
  • ·Cancel fallout — What happens to your data/projects on cancel — check the ToS, not the FAQ.
  • ·Seat math — Per-seat pricing multiplies quietly. Count seats before the annual plan.
  • ·Who skips it — Also skipped when: You need clear, stable pricing without promo/standard confusion.; The open-weight Text-01 flagship is required for your stack..

Price trail — 1 revisionchangelog →

  • 2026-W34MiniMax-M3 ≤512K context $0.30/$1.20 per 1M (promo 50…MiniMax-M3 ≤512K context $0.30/$1.20 per 1M (promo 50…

Facts

pricing
paid1
price note
MiniMax-M3 ≤512K context $0.30/$1.20 per 1M (promo 50% off list $0.60/$2.40), >512K 2× rate; M2.5 $0.30/$1.20 per 1M; Text-01 not listed on current API docs
free tier
yes — paid to keep using
open source
no
api
yes
self-host
no
category
models-api
evidence
source-verified
Models
MiniMax M3locked

Sources

  1. 1platform.minimax.io/docs/guides/pricing-paygo[snapshot]
  2. 2china-llm.com/blog/minimax-api-pricing[snapshot]
  3. 3developer.puter.com/tutorials/minimax-api-pricing/[snapshot]

No source, no number.

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