MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free) vs Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools: Which AI Model Is Better?
Updated March 24, 2026· Based on independent benchmark data
Quick Verdict
Both MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free) and Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools are competitive AI models. See the detailed comparison below to find which best fits your needs.
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Metric | MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free) | Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence Score | N/A | 57.2 |
| Coding Score | N/A | 55.5 |
| Math Score | N/A | N/A |
| Speed (tok/s) | N/A | 117 tok/s |
| Latency (TTFT) | N/A | 21.91s |
| Input Price / 1M tokens | Free | $2.00 |
| Output Price / 1M tokens | Free | $12 |
| Context Window | 197K | 1.0M |
| Max Output Tokens | 197K | 66K |
| Input Modalities | Text | Text + Audio + Image + Video + File |
| Output Modalities | Text | Text |
| Free Tier | Yes | No |
Detailed Analysis
Pricing
MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free) is completely free, while Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools costs $2.00/1M input tokens and $12/1M output tokens.
Context Window
Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools offers a larger context window at 1.0M tokens compared to MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free)'s 197K. This means Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools can process roughly 524 pages of text in a single request vs 98 pages for MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free). For output length, MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free) can generate up to 197K tokens per response vs 66K for Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools.
Best Use Cases
Choose Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools when you need larger context window (1.0M).
Choose MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free) if:
- ✓You want zero cost (Free vs paid)
Choose Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools if:
- ✓You need a larger context window (1.0M vs 197K)
- ✓You need image understanding (Supports image input)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free) process images?
No, MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free) does not support image input. However, Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools does support images.
Which has a larger context window, MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free) or Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools?
Google: Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Custom Tools has a larger context window at 1.0M compared to MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 (free)'s 197K.
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Benchmark data by Artificial Analysis
Data last synced: March 24, 2026