Claude Sonnet 4.5 vs MiniMax M3: which wins at real work?
22 task areas · same graded test runs · rank comparison only, so 0–100 and Elo collections never mix raw scores.
MiniMax M3 wins 16 of 22 task areas we tested; Claude Sonnet 4.5 takes 6. MiniMax M3 costs 12.0× less per token ($1.5 vs $18 per 1M).
MiniMax M3 costs 12.0× less per token ($1.5 vs $18 per 1M).
Task by task
| Task area | Claude Sonnet 4.5 | MiniMax M3 | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summarization & Meeting Notes |
#2
/ 110
Excellent
|
#79
/ 110
Excellent
|
Claude Sonnet 4.5 |
| Product & Project Management |
#71
/ 110
Strong
|
#3
/ 110
Excellent
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Content & Brand |
#74
/ 124
Usable
|
#28
/ 124
Strong
|
MiniMax M3 |
| AI Strategy |
#67
/ 126
Strong
|
#27
/ 126
Strong
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Customer Support |
#43
/ 113
Strong
|
#83
/ 113
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 4.5 |
| Knowledge & Docs |
#28
/ 110
Strong
|
#67
/ 110
Usable
|
Claude Sonnet 4.5 |
| Legal & HR |
#69
/ 110
Strong
|
#34
/ 110
Excellent
|
MiniMax M3 |
| RAG, Safety & Grounding |
#39
/ 113
Excellent
|
#72
/ 113
Excellent
|
Claude Sonnet 4.5 |
| Data & Analytics |
#33
/ 110
Excellent
|
#1
/ 110
Excellent
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Investor & Pitch |
#42
/ 66
Usable
|
#12
/ 66
Strong
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Translation & Localization |
#25
/ 110
Excellent
|
#55
/ 110
Excellent
|
Claude Sonnet 4.5 |
| Landing Pages |
#30
/ 72
Strong
|
#2
/ 72
Strong
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Structured Output |
#80
/ 113
Strong
|
#65
/ 113
Strong
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Presentations & Decks |
#43
/ 110
Excellent
|
#29
/ 110
Excellent
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Coding |
#62
/ 115
Strong
|
#49
/ 115
Strong
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Creative & Comedy | #66 / 110 | #55 / 110 | MiniMax M3 |
| Frontend & Landing Pages |
#29
/ 109
Needs editing
|
#20
/ 109
Needs editing
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Training & Education |
#51
/ 110
Excellent
|
#42
/ 110
Excellent
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Executive Assistant |
#31
/ 112
Strong
|
#39
/ 112
Strong
|
Claude Sonnet 4.5 |
| Sales |
#10
/ 110
Strong
|
#2
/ 110
Strong
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Chef / Home Cooking |
#80
/ 126
Usable
|
#74
/ 126
Usable
|
MiniMax M3 |
| Research & Competitive Analysis |
#39
/ 110
Strong
|
#33
/ 110
Strong
|
MiniMax M3 |
Rank = position among every model config we tested in that task area (lower is better). Sorted by biggest gap first.
Frequently asked
Is Claude Sonnet 4.5 better than MiniMax M3?
Across 22 task areas we benchmarked, MiniMax M3 ranks higher in 16 and Claude Sonnet 4.5 in 6.
Which is cheaper, Claude Sonnet 4.5 or MiniMax M3?
MiniMax M3 costs 12.0× less per token ($1.5 vs $18 per 1M).
What is Claude Sonnet 4.5 better at?
Claude Sonnet 4.5 out-ranks MiniMax M3 at Summarization & Meeting Notes, Customer Support, Knowledge & Docs.
What is MiniMax M3 better at?
MiniMax M3 out-ranks Claude Sonnet 4.5 at Product & Project Management, Content & Brand, AI Strategy.
More comparisons
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