Plus
$22/mo
Comparison · prices checked every day
MiniMax vs Gemini: which is worth paying for?
The current plans and our verdict on each tool, side by side. Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page and are checked every day.
Prices, verdicts, test results or user reports behind this comparison changed on Sep 28, 2026. We are re-checking it; the plan table below always shows the current prices.
The short answer
Choose MiniMax if…
- you need dedicated agent workflows with 3-7 agents on the Plus, Max, or Ultra plans
- you want to run MiniMax-M3 through the API for coding and logic tasks
Choose Gemini if…
Our pick for most people
- you want a free plan with 15 GB of cloud storage
- you need massive storage (400 GB to 20 TB) and higher usage limits for daily work
Bottom line: Gemini is the better paid choice for most users because it offers a free tier and massive storage upgrades that make it practical for regular work.
Key differences
- MiniMax has no free plan, while Gemini offers a free tier with 15 GB of cloud storage. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (gemini.google), checked Sep 24, 2026.Go to sources ↓
- MiniMax plans range from $22/month to $132/month for agent usage limits. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (platform.minimax.io), checked Sep 25, 2026.Go to sources ↓
- Gemini paid plans range from $4.99/month to $99.99/month, adding storage up to 20 TB. pricing pageSource · vendor pagePricing page (gemini.google), checked Sep 24, 2026.Go to sources ↓
- MiniMax scored 8.3/10 on polite meeting declines and 9.9/10 on Python functions 8.3Our test · paid tierMiniMax · Decline a meeting politely: 8.3/10, 3 of 4 checks passed.Read the answer ↓9.9Our test · paid tierMiniMax · Write a small Python function: 9.9/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓.
- Gemini scored 9.8/10 on polite meeting declines and 10.0/10 on Python functions 9.8Our test · free tierGemini · Decline a meeting politely: 9.8/10, 4 of 4 checks passed.Read the answer ↓10.0Our test · free tierGemini · Write a small Python function: 10.0/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓.
Plans and limits side by side
| Plans | MiniMax | Gemini |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | No free plan | Free $0Cloud storage 15 GB |
| Paid plans | Plus $22/moQuota windows 5-hour rolling and weekly windows, Agent usage 3-4 agentsMax $55/moQuota windows 5-hour rolling and weekly windows, Agent usage 4-5 agentsUltra $132/moQuota windows 5-hour rolling and weekly windows, Agent usage 6-7 agents | Google AI Plus $4.99/moCloud storage 400 GBGoogle AI Pro $19.99/moCloud storage 5 TBGoogle AI Ultra $99.99/moCloud storage 20 TB |
| Business plans | — | Gemini Enterprise Business $21/user/moSeats 300, Storage per seat 25 GiBGemini Enterprise Standard / Plus $30/user/moSeats Unlimited, Storage per seat 75 GiB |
From each vendor's own pricing page · MiniMax checked Sep 27, 2026 · Gemini checked Sep 27, 2026.
Our tests
Scores out of 10 on the same tasks of our public test suite ("Chat assistants", version 1), run through each vendor's API (the API models, not the consumer apps), scored by the same blind judges.
| Task | MiniMax · paid tier | Gemini · free tier |
|---|---|---|
| Decline a meeting politely | 8.3/10 | 9.8/10 |
| Summarize a text in 3 bullets | 8.0/10 | 6.1/10 |
| Work out an arrival time | 10.0/10 | 10.0/10 |
| Solve a small logic puzzle | 9.7/10 | 10.0/10 |
| Extract data as JSON | 9.3/10 | 10.0/10 |
| Write a small Python function | 9.9/10 | 10.0/10 |
| Explain a concept to a 12-year-old | 8.5/10 | 5.8/10 |
| Rewrite a blunt message | 8.7/10 | 9.0/10 |
| Translate into Spanish | 8.8/10 | 9.7/10 |
| Make a 5-day beginner plan | 6.6/10 | 9.1/10 |
| Write a 3-sentence product text | 8.3/10 | 9.5/10 |
| Admit what it cannot know | 9.7/10 | 9.7/10 |
| Average | 8.8/10 | 9.1/10 |
MiniMax scored 8.3/10 on polite meeting declines 8.3Our test · paid tierMiniMax · Decline a meeting politely: 8.3/10, 3 of 4 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Gemini scored 9.8/10 on polite meeting declines 9.8Our test · free tierGemini · Decline a meeting politely: 9.8/10, 4 of 4 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. MiniMax scored 9.9/10 on writing a small Python function 9.9Our test · paid tierMiniMax · Write a small Python function: 9.9/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Gemini scored 10.0/10 on writing a small Python function 10.0Our test · free tierGemini · Write a small Python function: 10.0/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. MiniMax scored 9.7/10 on solving a small logic puzzle 9.7Our test · paid tierMiniMax · Solve a small logic puzzle: 9.7/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓. Gemini scored 10.0/10 on solving a small logic puzzle 10.0Our test · free tierGemini · Solve a small logic puzzle: 10.0/10, 3 of 3 checks passed.Read the answer ↓.
What users say
MiniMax
One Reddit user says MiniMax Code found a buried clause in 800k tokens of legal docs RedditUser report · positive · Redditr/ChatGPT, posted Jun 27, 2026See the report ↓. A user notes MiniMax M3 replies were harder to parse than other models HNUser report · negative · Hacker NewsPosted Aug 26, 2026See the report ↓. Another user reports local MiniMax took 15 minutes to respond HNUser report · negative · Hacker NewsPosted Aug 10, 2026See the report ↓.
Reports cited (3)
threw 800k tokens of legal docs into MiniMax Code and it found a clause buried in page 312 that i missed twice manually been doing m&a due diligence work for about three years. the document review part is brutal. …
… As another comparison, I went back to MiniMax M3 for a while last night. It was significantly faster than Ox, but I felt M3's replies were harder to parse, not quite getting to the point. But I guess I could curb that with some prompts. …
… Sitting around 15 minutes for local Minimax is stupid when you're trying to be productive. You can spin up parallel job instances and multitask in the cloud. If you want freedom, build open source cloud infra. You rent your ISP line. Why isn't renting GPU compute seen the same way? …
Gemini
A Reddit user claims Gemini 3.5 Pro will destroy everyone RedditUser report · positive · Redditr/GeminiAI, posted Jun 28, 2026See the report ↓. Another user says Gemini 3.5 Pro is so bad the US government intervened RedditUser report · negative · Redditr/singularity, posted Jun 27, 2026See the report ↓. A user notes getting a Gemini API key is an exercise in frustration HNUser report · negative · Hacker NewsPosted Dec 10, 2025See the report ↓.
Reports cited (3)
The new gemini logo has been released 3.5 pro will destroy everyone
Breaking news! Gemini 3.5 pro so ass the US government intervened to keep it out of the US!
Getting a Gemini API key is an exercise in frustration
Questions people ask
Does MiniMax have a free plan?
No, MiniMax has no free plan.
Does Gemini have a free plan?
Yes, Gemini offers a free tier with 15 GB of cloud storage.
What is the cheapest paid plan for MiniMax?
The MiniMax Plus plan costs $22/month.
What is the cheapest paid plan for Gemini?
The Gemini Google AI Plus plan costs $4.99/month.
Sources
Drafted with AI from these pages, our tests and the linked user reports, and checked automatically against them before publishing: every price, score and report above is tied to the tool it is about.
MiniMax
- Pricing page · checked Sep 25, 2026platform.minimax.io/docs/guides/pricing-token-plan ↩ text
Gemini
- Pricing page · checked Sep 24, 2026gemini.google/us/subscriptions ↩ text
Each tool's verdict and plans
MiniMax
YES YES — worth paying for
MiniMax has no free plan, but its paid tiers offer strong value for coding agents and heavy API usage.
Tested by us on Sep 25, 2026 · with user reports
- Cheapest paid
- $22/mo
- What's free
- None
- Our test score
- 8.8/10
Our test (API): paid tier 8.8/10, as of Sep 25, 2026
Max
$55/mo
Ultra
$132/mo
Gemini
YES YES — worth paying for
Paying adds massive storage and higher usage limits that make the tool practical for regular work.
Tested by us on Sep 26, 2026 · with user reports
- Cheapest paid
- $4.99/mo
- What's free
- $0
- Our test score
- 9.1/10
Our test (API): free tier 9.1/10, as of Sep 26, 2026
Free
$0
Google AI Plus
$4.99/mo
Google AI Pro
$19.99/mo
Google AI Ultra
$99.99/mo
Gemini Enterprise Business
$21/user/mo
Gemini Enterprise Standard / Plus
$30/user/mo
How we make money
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