MiniMax API vs OpenAI API

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.

OpenAI API

Official OpenAPI document and an llms.txt index. Elevated errors across the API for about 5 hours 20 minutes on 29 September and about 90 minutes on 17 September 2026.

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

OpenAI API

1. Build on the Responses API. Astra calls tools only there
2. Use gpt-6-luna for routing and extraction and gpt-6.1-sol for most work. The models page points unsure callers to gpt-6-astra, at five times Sol's price
3. Move off the GPT-4o and GPT-4.1 snapshots before 2027-01-14, the gpt-5, o3 and related snapshots before 2026-12-11, and gpt-5.1, gpt-5.3-codex and gpt-5.4-nano before 2027-04-01. Check shutdown_date on GET /v1/models
4. Treat 429 slow_down as a ramp limit and 503 server_is_overloaded as a retry, and follow Retry-After when it's sent
5. Prompts over 272K tokens cost double on input. Trim before you pay for it