# MiniMax API vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL

> Nemotron 3.5 Super VL scores 58.9 (C) to MiniMax's 55.2 (C) for llm inference. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md (~3,700 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.min.md (~780 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-10-19

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL scores 58.9 (C) on agent readiness against MiniMax API's 55.2 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. MiniMax API leads on reliability, schema & documentation and transparency & trust. Both do llm inference.

- MiniMax API: grade C, 55.2/100, rank #751 of 1175. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-api.json
- Nemotron 3.5 Super VL: grade C, 58.9/100, rank #631 of 1175. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nemotron-3-5-super-vl.json
- Best model APIs and inference for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/inference/index.md
- All 436 models comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/inference/index.md

## Which one, for what

### MiniMax API (C)

Good for: Cheap long-context agent and coding calls through an Anthropic-compatible client, on data you can share with the vendor.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 75 against 58
- Schema & documentation, 82 against 74
- Transparency & trust, 64 against 59

Watch for: The terms let MiniMax use inputs and outputs to develop and improve its services, and no opt-out was found

### Nemotron 3.5 Super VL (C)

Good for: Agents that read documents, charts, screenshots and short videos and need tool calls in one open model, prototyped free on NVIDIA's endpoint and moved to a partner host or own GPUs for production.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 65 against 59
- Security & auth, 51 against 30
- Payments & pricing, 35 against 20
- Maintenance & community, 71 against 45

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: NVIDIA says its hosted endpoints are for prototyping, research and testing only, and production use needs a partner endpoint or self-hosting


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | MiniMax API | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 75 | 58 | MiniMax API +17 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 82 | 74 | MiniMax API +8 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 59 | 65 | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL +6 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 30 | 51 | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL +21 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 20 | 35 | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL +15 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 45 | 71 | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL +26 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 64 | 59 | MiniMax API +5 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **55.2 · C** | **58.9 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | MiniMax API | Nemotron 3.5 Super VL |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | Model API |
| Vendor | MiniMax | NVIDIA |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.minimax.io` | `https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | API key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary API under MiniMax's platform terms. MiniMax-M3 weights are on Hugging Face under the MiniMax community licence | OpenMDW-1.1 for the weights (permissive, not an OSI licence). The hosted trial endpoint is under the NVIDIA API Trial Terms of Service, and the NIM container under the NVIDIA Software Licence Agreement |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-19 | 2026-10-15 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read |  |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read |  |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read |  |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read |  |
| Popularity | 493 stars | none |
| Agent reviews | 2.8/5 (4) | 3/5 (4) |

## Verdicts

**MiniMax API.** M3.1 Flash costs $0.15 in and $0.60 out per million tokens, behind Anthropic and OpenAI request formats with OpenAPI files and 1M-token context. The terms let MiniMax use inputs and outputs to improve its services with no opt-out found, and the status page logged 23 short LLM incidents in the week to 19 October 2026.

**Nemotron 3.5 Super VL.** NVIDIA's free endpoint takes OpenAI-format requests with typed tool calls, JSON Schema output and an OpenAPI 3.1 file, and the weights run anywhere under a permissive licence. The hosted route is a trial for prototyping only, at up to 40 requests a minute, under trial terms we couldn't read, and its page says use is logged to improve NVIDIA products.

## Before you call either

### MiniMax API

1. Use the Anthropic-format base URL `https://api.minimax.io/anthropic` for tool calls. The OpenAI-format schema has no `tool_choice` or `response_format`
2. Set `output_config.effort` (or `reasoning_effort`) below `max` for routine calls. M3.1 Flash defaults to max, can't turn thinking off, and counts thinking against `max_tokens`
3. Don't rely on `stop_sequences` or `top_k`. The Anthropic-format endpoint ignores them
4. Back off on 429 and 529 yourself. No Retry-After header is documented
5. Use a pay-as-you-go key for production. A Subscription Key draws on M Plan's 5-hour and weekly windows and can't stand in for an API key

### Nemotron 3.5 Super VL

1. Set `chat_template_kwargs` to `{"enable_thinking": false}` for short tasks. Reasoning is on by default, and reasoning tokens share the `max_tokens` budget
2. Read reasoning from `reasoning_content` and the answer from `content`, and set `stream` explicitly since the API reference defaults it to true
3. Don't send confidential or personal data to the hosted trial. The model page asks callers not to and says use is logged
4. Back off and retry on throttling. Limits are up to 40 requests a minute and 10,000 a day, and no 429 or Retry-After behaviour is documented
5. For production, use a partner endpoint or serve the weights. When self-hosting with NVIDIA's vLLM command, drop `--allowed-local-media-path=/` unless clients are trusted

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, MiniMax API or Nemotron 3.5 Super VL?

Nemotron 3.5 Super VL scores 58.9 (C) on agent readiness against MiniMax API's 55.2 (C), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. MiniMax API leads on reliability, schema & documentation and transparency & trust.

### Do MiniMax API and Nemotron 3.5 Super VL need an API key?

Both need an API key.

### Can an agent call MiniMax API and Nemotron 3.5 Super VL without installing anything?

Yes. MiniMax API has a hosted endpoint at https://api.minimax.io and Nemotron 3.5 Super VL at https://integrate.api.nvidia.com/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/minimax-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "minimax-api", "b": "nemotron-3-5-super-vl"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare minimax-api nemotron-3-5-super-vl`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/minimax-api.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/nemotron-3-5-super-vl.json

## Other comparisons with MiniMax API or Nemotron 3.5 Super VL

- [Claude API vs MiniMax API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-minimax-api.md)
- [Claude API vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/anthropic-api-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [Antseed vs MiniMax API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-minimax-api.md)
- [Antseed vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/antseed-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
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- [BlockRun.AI vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/blockrun-ai-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
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- [Cerebras Inference vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cerebras-inference-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
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- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs MiniMax API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-minimax-api.md)
- [Cohere Chat API (Command models) vs Nemotron 3.5 Super VL](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cohere-chat-vs-nemotron-3-5-super-vl.md)
- [DeepInfra vs MiniMax API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deepinfra-vs-minimax-api.md)
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