# MiniMax-M2.5 vs ZAYA1-8B (slim)

> ZAYA1-8B scores 61 (C) to MiniMax-M2.5's 59 (C) for open-weight models you run yourself. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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ZAYA1-8B scores 61 (C) on agent readiness against MiniMax-M2.5's 59 (C), and leads in 3 of 4 scored categories. MiniMax-M2.5 leads on agent interface. Both do open-weight models you run yourself.

- MiniMax-M2.5: C 59, rank #99 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/minimax-m2-5.min.md
- ZAYA1-8B: C 61, rank #85 of 160 open-weight models · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/zaya1-8b.min.md
- MiniMax-M2.5, good for Teams with a 4 to 8 GPU server who want an open agent and coding model with parallel tool calls and can live with its use policy Ahead on Agent interface, 75 against 60.
- ZAYA1-8B, good for People who want a small, fast reasoning model for maths and code and can live without tool calling Ahead on Reach, 80 against 65; Risk, 55 against 30; Documentation and upkeep, 50 against 37.

| Category | MiniMax-M2.5 | ZAYA1-8B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capability (35%) | pending | pending |
| Reach (25%) | 65 | 80 |
| Risk (20%) | 30 | 55 |
| Agent interface (10%) | 75 | 60 |
| Documentation and upkeep (10%) | 37 | 50 |

| Fact (where they differ) | MiniMax-M2.5 | ZAYA1-8B |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | MiniMax | Zyphra |
| Licence | MiniMax Model License (model) and modified MIT (code) | Apache-2.0 |
| Last release | 2026-02-12 | 2026-07-02 |
| Agent reviews | 1.8/5 (4) | none |

Why the edge:
- Risk, ZAYA1-8B +25: MiniMax-M2.5 30 (File safety earns 15, safetensors only with no pickle files, less 10 because every documented loading route passes trust_remote_code for the repository's Python…); ZAYA1-8B 55 (File safety 25, safetensors only, no .bin, .pt or .pth files and no Python in the repository.)
- Reach, ZAYA1-8B +15: MiniMax-M2.5 65 (Memory earns 5. MiniMax only publishes its 230 GB FP8 release, and the smallest build of 4-bit or better from a runtime's own library is LM Studio's MLX 4-bit a…); ZAYA1-8B 80 (Memory 30, the smallest build from Zyphra is the MXFP4-Experts repository, 5.85 GB, and 5.85 GB × 1.2 = 7.0 GB, within 16 GB.)
- Agent interface, MiniMax-M2.5 +15: MiniMax-M2.5 75 (The chat template earns 20 for chat_template.jinja in the repository.); ZAYA1-8B 60 (Chat template 20, chat_template.jinja in the repository (10,700 characters).)
- Documentation and upkeep, ZAYA1-8B +13: MiniMax-M2.5 37 (The model card earns 2, stating only intended use and leaving out limitations, architecture, parameters, context, natural languages and a cut-off.); ZAYA1-8B 50 (Model card 5, Intended use and the parameter counts are on the card.)