AllocateDeepSeek V4 vs MiniMax M3
On provider list prices, MiniMax M3 costs $0.30 per million input tokens against $1.74 for DeepSeek V4: 5.8x apart. Output is $1.20 against $3.48 (2.9x). On Allocate both bill at list plus the 7% transaction fee.
DeepSeek V4M MiniMax M3Specifications and provider list prices from the Allocate catalog, checked 2026-07-08. Billed price is list plus the 7% transaction fee.
What the numbers say
Take 1,000,000 requests a month at 1,200 input and 350 output tokens each. That workload costs $780 a month on MiniMax M3 and $3,306 on DeepSeek V4 at list: a gap of $2,526, or 4.2x.
MiniMax M3 reads 512K tokens per request against 512K for DeepSeek V4, 1.0x the window. That decides which one can take whole documents without splitting them.
Choose DeepSeek V4 for
- Reasoning-heavy agents
- Long-document analysis
- Cost-sensitive production routes
Choose MiniMax M3 for
- The lower list price ($0.30 in / $1.20 out per M tokens)
- The longer context window (512K vs 512K tokens)
Common questions
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V4 or MiniMax M3?
MiniMax M3, on this workload shape. At list prices it is $0.30/$1.20 per million tokens in and out against $1.74/$3.48 for DeepSeek V4. Billed on Allocate: $0.32/$1.28 against $1.86/$3.72, list plus 7%.
Which has the bigger context window?
MiniMax M3: 524,288 tokens (512K) against 512,000 (512K) for DeepSeek V4.
Can I fine-tune DeepSeek V4 or MiniMax M3?
No. Both are closed models served over API. If you want a model you can train and own, start from an open-weights base in the catalog.
Related comparisons
Run the numbers on your workload
Or don’t choose. On Allocate a route name is the contract: point yours at one model today, swap to the other tomorrow, and compare them on your live traffic with per-token metering.