Free to start

MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 vs Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B

Try both on us. Starter credit covers your first requests, then one key routes MiniMax M2.5 and Qwen3.5 397B A17B. Switch by changing the model name.

Compare routesProviders, price, context, and policy posture in one view.

Use auto when uptime mattersKeep a primary model and let fallback handle provider failures.

Same API shapeUse the OpenAI client and set the model you want.

Practical read

Monthly evidence

MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 has the lower published input-plus-output rate. Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B has more Credits provider routes, the larger context window and the lower measured p50 time to first token.

$1.577225/1MMiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 cheapest route

$3.63975/1MQwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B cheapest route

2811 msMiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 fastest measured p50 TTFT via amazon-bedrock

1649 msQwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B fastest measured p50 TTFT via scaleway

The price comparison adds each route's rate for one million input tokens and one million output tokens; your cost depends on your input/output mix. Prices and live route measurements can change. Use the monthly reports when you need a stable evidence window, then run a small task-specific eval before choosing a production default.

MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B

Model idminimax/minimax-m2.5qwen/qwen3.5-397b-a17b

Publisher MiniMax Alibaba Cloud Model Studio

AI IQ IQ 104#102 —

Context196,608 tokens262,144 tokens

Credits provider routes611

Cheapest route$1.577225/1M$3.63975/1M

Cached input$0.03165/1M to $0.186735/1M$0.047475/1M to $0.58025/1M

Privacy postureprovider posture varieshas Confidential route (E2EE + ZDR)

Fastest measured p50 TTFT2811 ms via amazon-bedrock1649 ms via scaleway

Highest measured throughputnot enough datanot enough data

Recent route uptime range100.00%0.00% to 100.00%

Modes chat chat

MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 routes

Overview6 Credits routes
PricingInput, cached input, and output rates
ProvidersAll serving providers

Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B routes

Overview11 Credits routes
PricingInput, cached input, and output rates
ProvidersAll serving providers

Related comparisons

Browse every comparison

Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Z.ai: GLM 5.344 combined provider routes
Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Z.ai: GLM 5.243 combined provider routes
Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B vs Z.ai: GLM 5.3 Flash43 combined provider routes
MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 vs Z.ai: GLM 5.339 combined provider routes
MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 vs Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B39 combined provider routes
MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 vs Z.ai: GLM 5.238 combined provider routes
MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 vs Z.ai: GLM 5.3 Flash38 combined provider routes
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 vs Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B37 combined provider routes

Production choice

Pick a default model. Keep fallback enabled.

TrustedRouter is useful when you know the model you want, but still need provider rollover, budget limits, usage records, and a prompt path you can verify.

OpenAI clientPython

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.trustedrouter.com/v1",
    api_key="sk-tr-v1-..."
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="minimax/minimax-m2.5",
    messages=messages,
)

Questions

Which should I use, MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 or Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B?

Is MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 or Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B cheaper?

The current cheapest TrustedRouter route is $1.577225/1M for MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 and $3.63975/1M for Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B. The comparison uses current catalog prices and updates as provider pricing changes.

Is MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 or Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B faster?

Current measured p50 time to first token is 2811 ms for MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 and 1649 ms for Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B. These are routed probe measurements, not vendor-advertised speeds, and update as new samples arrive.

Can I test MiniMax: MiniMax M2.5 and Qwen: Qwen3.5 397B A17B with the same API?

Yes. Use the same OpenAI-compatible TrustedRouter base URL and API key, then change only the model id between minimax/minimax-m2.5 and qwen/qwen3.5-397b-a17b. This makes side-by-side evals possible without maintaining two provider integrations.