AI Models · Open-Source vs Paid

MiniMax M3.1 Flash Open vs PEPerceptron Mk1.5 Paid

MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Perceptron Mk1.5 compared — price per token, context window, multimodality, openness and which to choose. Can the open-source model replace the paid one? Full 2026 breakdown.

Prices & specs refreshed from live data · olud.ai

Open-model prices = cheapest provider via OpenRouter; official maker rates may be higher.

MiniMax M3.1 FlashOpenMiniMax
$0.15 /M input
$0.6 /M outputNo per-token fees if you self-host
TypeOpen-weight
Context window1M tokens
MultimodalYes
Self-hostYes
PEPerceptron Mk1.5PaidPerceptron
$0.15 /M input
$1.5 /M outputManaged API (no infra to run)
TypeProprietary
Context window37K tokens
MultimodalYes
Self-hostNo
Choose MiniMax M3.1 Flash if you want to self-host, keep your data private and skip per-token fees — it's open-weight and runs on your own hardware. Choose Perceptron Mk1.5 if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Perceptron Mk1.5 specs

SpecMiniMax M3.1 FlashPerceptron Mk1.5Winner
MakerMiniMaxPerceptron–
TypeOpen-weightProprietaryMiniMax M3.1 Flash
Context window1M tokens37K tokensMiniMax M3.1 Flash
Input price$0.15/M · free self-host$0.15/M= Tie
Output price$0.6/M · free self-host$1.5/MMiniMax M3.1 Flash
Vision / multimodalYesYes= Tie
Tool / function callingYesYes= Tie
Self-hostableYesNo (API only)MiniMax M3.1 Flash
LicenseMITProprietaryMiniMax M3.1 Flash

Price gap & when to choose each

2.5×cheaper per output token

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is ~2.5× cheaper than Perceptron Mk1.5 on output tokens ($0.6 vs $1.5 per M tokens).

Choose MiniMax M3.1 Flash if…
  • You want to self-host or run on your cloud
  • You need the longer 1M context window
  • You prioritize data privacy & control
  • You want the lowest operating costs
  • You are building open or reproducible AI
PEChoose Perceptron Mk1.5 if…
  • You want frontier performance through a managed API
  • You value reliability & ecosystem
  • You don't want to manage infrastructure

Feature comparison

CapabilityMiniMax M3.1 FlashPerceptron Mk1.5
Open weights (downloadable)✓✗
Self-hostable✓✗
Runs fully offline✓✗
Vision / multimodal✓✓
Tool / function calling✓✓
1M+ context window✓✗

Benchmarks: MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Perceptron Mk1.5

Independent benchmark scores measured by Artificial Analysis. Higher is better (except latency).

MiniMax M3.1 Flash
Perceptron Mk1.5
Intelligence index
42.7
–
Humanity's Last Exam
48%
–
Long Context Reasoning
79.7%
–
SciCode
53.4%
–
Speed
103.3 tok/s
–
Latency
1s
–
Intelligence per $
163
–

Benchmark data by Artificial Analysis.

How MiniMax M3.1 Flash and Perceptron Mk1.5 score

🏆 Best value & openness: MiniMax M3.1 Flash (5.0 vs 2.9 / 5)
CriterionMiniMax M3.1 FlashPerceptron Mk1.5
Cost-efficiency5.04.5
Context window5.02.5
Openness5.01.5
Self-hosting5.01.0
Multimodality5.05.0

Scores come from live data — output price (cost), context length, open vs closed weights (openness & self-hosting) and vision/tool support (multimodality). Raw task quality isn't scored here; it depends on your benchmark — see the verdict.

What each model is

MiniMax M3.1 Flash Open

MiniMax · Open-weight

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,...

Perceptron Mk1.5 Paid

Perceptron · Proprietary

Perceptron Mk1.5 is Perceptron's embodied reasoning model for physical agents. It accepts text, image, video, and audio input, and answers with text plus optional structured annotations: points, boxes, polygons, tracks,...

Other models in these families

These variants are tracked but not compared here — one page per family keeps the comparison readable.

Other variants tracked
MiniMax M3MiniMax M2.7MiniMax M2.5MiniMax M2.1MiniMax M2MiniMax M1MiniMax M2-herMiniMax-01

Frequently asked questions

Is MiniMax M3.1 Flash as good as Perceptron Mk1.5?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash is open-weight and competitive on many tasks, but Perceptron Mk1.5 may still lead on the hardest reasoning and agentic work. The gap keeps narrowing — benchmark both on your actual use case before deciding.

Can I run MiniMax M3.1 Flash locally?

Yes. MiniMax M3.1 Flash has open weights, so you can self-host it on your own GPUs or run it via a low-cost API. Perceptron Mk1.5 is API-only and cannot be self-hosted.

How much cheaper is MiniMax M3.1 Flash?

MiniMax M3.1 Flash costs $0.6/M output vs $1.5/M for Perceptron Mk1.5 — roughly 3x cheaper via API, and free if you self-host.

MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs Perceptron Mk1.5 — which should I pick in 2026?

Choose MiniMax M3.1 Flash if you want to self-host, keep your data private and skip per-token fees — it's open-weight and runs on your own hardware. Choose Perceptron Mk1.5 if you want frontier capability through a managed API with zero infrastructure to run.

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