MiniMax M3 vs GLM 5.3 Flash
GLM 5.3 Flash leads llmrun Score 124.2 to 112.5; neither fits 24 GB.
Model A · MiniMax
MiniMax M3427.0B · 19.8B active · 1M context · Other · Jun 2026
Model B · Z.ai
GLM 5.3 Flash321.3B · 18.3B active · 1M context · MIT · Aug 2026
Choose GLM 5.3 Flash if you want…
Higher llmrun Score
124.2 vs 112.5
Stronger at reasoning
127.4 vs 107.9
Stronger at math
121.4 vs 106.1
Ahead on the benchmarks
13 of 17 shared boards
Lighter on memory
194.6 vs 256.7 GB at Q4_K_M
More permissive license
MIT vs Other
MiniMax M3: no clear edge over GLM 5.3 Flash in the data we have.
On your hardware
Each model at its default quant (Q4_K_M), a smaller one when it must. Estimates, ±20%.
8 GB
RTX 4060 · 8 GB tier
MiniMax M3
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 119.2 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 100.7 GB
12 GB
RTX 3060 12GB · 12 GB tier
MiniMax M3
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 119.2 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 100.7 GB
16 GB
RTX 5060 Ti 16GB · 16 GB tier
MiniMax M3
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 119.2 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 100.7 GB
24 GBreference
RTX 4090 · 24 GB tier
MiniMax M3
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 119.2 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 100.7 GB
32 GB
RTX 5090 · 32 GB tier
MiniMax M3
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 119.2 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 100.7 GB
48 GB
RTX A6000 · 48 GB tier
MiniMax M3
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 119.2 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 100.7 GB
Mac 32 GB
Mac Mini M4 · Macs
MiniMax M3
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 119.2 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 100.7 GB
Mac 64 GB
Mac Studio M4 Max · Macs
MiniMax M3
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 119.2 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
Doesn't fit
smallest quant needs 100.7 GB
Mac 128 GB
Mac Studio M4 Max · Macs
MiniMax M3
IQ2_XXS · ~38 tok/s
119.2 GB · up to 64K
GLM 5.3 Flash
IQ2_S · ~41 tok/s
112.8 GB · up to 16K
Reference GPU: RTX 4090. Tinted cell = the better pick on that machine (fits, more headroom, or at least 10% faster).
Overall
MiniMax M3
GLM 5.3 Flash
Coding
MiniMax M3
GLM 5.3 Flash
Agents
MiniMax M3
GLM 5.3 Flash
Math
MiniMax M3
GLM 5.3 Flash
Science
MiniMax M3
GLM 5.3 Flash
Reasoning
MiniMax M3
GLM 5.3 Flash
MiniMax M3 · #21 of 100 open models · #18 of 96 that fit ≤512 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash · #9 of 100 open models · #4 of 84 that fit ≤256 GB
Benchmarks
17 shared boards: MiniMax M3 leads 3, GLM 5.3 Flash leads 13 · Benchmarks imported Oct 2026
MiniMax M3
90.9%#6/98 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
90.1%#9/98 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
68.2#19/19 open
IndependentLiveBench · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
79.0#5/19 open
IndependentLiveBench · Jun 2026
MiniMax M3
74.5#17/19 open
IndependentLiveBench · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
77.6#15/19 open
IndependentLiveBench · Jun 2026
MiniMax M3
71.1%#27/86 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
93.9%#9/86 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
77.0#19/19 open
IndependentLiveBench · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
81.2#15/19 open
IndependentLiveBench · Jun 2026
MiniMax M3
47.1%#17/66 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
51.6%#6/66 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
14.7%#10/12 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
31.8%#4/12 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
640.0#24/43 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
303.6#39/43 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
37.7%#10/16 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
52.8%#3/16 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
13.0%#14/14 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
21.0%#9/14 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Aug 2026
25 more boards (other shared and single-model boards)
MiniMax M3
3.7%#20/66 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
15.4%#7/66 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
70.9#7/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
80.6#5/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
MiniMax M3
12.4#13/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
28.4#6/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
MiniMax M3
74.5#12/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
77.6#10/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
MiniMax M3
8.0%#14/18 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
8.0%#15/18 open
IndependentEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
18.0%#13/26 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
21.0%#12/26 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
55.0%#3/13 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Jun 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
52.5%#4/13 open
Lab-reportedEpoch AI · Aug 2026
MiniMax M3
1441.3#19/187 open
ArenaLMArena · Oct 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
1473.8#6/187 open
ArenaLMArena · Oct 2026
MiniMax M3
1482.5#17/52 open
ArenaLMArena · Oct 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
1605.5#8/52 open
ArenaLMArena · Oct 2026
MiniMax M3
8.0#9/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
84.0#2/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
MiniMax M3
76.2#7/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
76.4#6/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
MiniMax M3
66.2#9/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
77.2#4/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
MiniMax M3
68.0#10/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
GLM 5.3 Flash
70.1#8/15 open
IndependentLiveBench · Sep 2026
Only MiniMax M3 (5)
- SimpleBench45.8%
- DTBench78.9%
- ForecastBench61.3
- LMCA33.7%
- Vending-Bench 22157.8
Only GLM 5.3 Flash (7)
- FrontierMath55.8%
- ARC-AGI-265.8%
- ARC-AGI91.0%
- FrontierMath Tier 417.1%
- DeepSWE63.4%
- CursorBench36.8%
- FrontierSWE18.1%
VRAM by quantization
Memory to load the model and 2K context; below it, the total at 32K and 128K context. Lighter side in bold.
Q2_K
MiniMax M3
182 GB151.9 GB file
32K 185 GB · 128K 194 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
138 GB114.2 GB file
32K 161 GB · 128K 234 GB
Q3_K_S
MiniMax M3
187 GB187.3 GB file
32K 190 GB · 128K 199 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
Q3_K_M
MiniMax M3
209 GB195.5 GB file
32K 212 GB · 128K 221 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
158 GB149.1 GB file
32K 181 GB · 128K 254 GB
Q4_0
MiniMax M3
214 GB243.6 GB file
32K 217 GB · 128K 226 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
Q4_K_M
MiniMax M3
257 GB264.9 GB file
32K 260 GB · 128K 269 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
195 GB188.7 GB file
32K 217 GB · 128K 290 GB
Q5_K_M
MiniMax M3
305 GB318.7 GB file
32K 308 GB · 128K 317 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
231 GB~228.9 GB file
32K 253 GB · 128K 326 GB
Q6_K
MiniMax M3
353 GB355.3 GB file
32K 356 GB · 128K 365 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
267 GB~265.1 GB file
32K 290 GB · 128K 362 GB
Q8_0
MiniMax M3
428 GB453.6 GB file
32K 430 GB · 128K 439 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
323 GB341.0 GB file
32K 346 GB · 128K 418 GB
15 more quants
IQ2_XXS
MiniMax M3
118 GB134.9 GB file
32K 121 GB · 128K 130 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
90.2 GB101.8 GB file
32K 113 GB · 128K 185 GB
IQ2_XS
MiniMax M3
129 GB129.5 GB file
32K 131 GB · 128K 140 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
IQ2_S
MiniMax M3
134 GB132.1 GB file
32K 137 GB · 128K 146 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
102 GB113.6 GB file
32K 125 GB · 128K 197 GB
IQ2_M
MiniMax M3
145 GB135.1 GB file
32K 147 GB · 128K 157 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
IQ3_XXS
MiniMax M3
166 GB160.3 GB file
32K 169 GB · 128K 178 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
126 GB120.4 GB file
32K 149 GB · 128K 221 GB
IQ3_XS
MiniMax M3
177 GB196.4 GB file
32K 179 GB · 128K 189 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
IQ3_S
MiniMax M3
182 GB175.6 GB file
32K 185 GB · 128K 194 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
IQ3_M
MiniMax M3
193 GB205.5 GB file
32K 195 GB · 128K 205 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
Q3_K_L
MiniMax M3
219 GB205.0 GB file
32K 222 GB · 128K 231 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
IQ4_XS
MiniMax M3
230 GB208.5 GB file
32K 233 GB · 128K 242 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
175 GB156.8 GB file
32K 197 GB · 128K 270 GB
IQ4_NL
MiniMax M3
241 GB212.7 GB file
32K 244 GB · 128K 253 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
Q4_1
MiniMax M3
241 GB268.9 GB file
32K 244 GB · 128K 253 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
Q4_K_S
MiniMax M3
241 GB248.6 GB file
32K 244 GB · 128K 253 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
Q5_K_S
MiniMax M3
294 GB299.7 GB file
32K 297 GB · 128K 306 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
not listed
BF16
MiniMax M3
855 GB852.9 GB file
32K 857 GB · 128K 866 GB
GLM 5.3 Flash
644 GB641.6 GB file
32K 667 GB · 128K 740 GB
MiniMax M3
Ollama · Q4_K_M
ollama run hf.co/unsloth/MiniMax-M3-GGUF:Q4_K_MGLM 5.3 Flash
Ollama · Q4_K_M
ollama run hf.co/batiai/GLM-5.3-Flash-GGUF:Q4_K_M| Spec | MiniMax M3 | GLM 5.3 Flash |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher | MiniMax | Z.ai |
| Parameters | 427.0B | 321.3B |
| Active parameters | 20B per token | 18B per token |
| Architecture | MiniMaxM3SparseForConditionalGeneration | Glm5NextForConditionalGeneration |
| Context | 1M tokens | 1M tokens |
| Modalities | Vision, Function-calling | Vision, Function-calling |
| License | Other | MIT |
| Released | Jun 2026 | Aug 2026 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is better, MiniMax M3 or GLM 5.3 Flash?
GLM 5.3 Flash leads llmrun Score 124.2 to 112.5; neither fits 24 GB. Choose GLM 5.3 Flash for higher llmrun Score and stronger at reasoning.
Which needs less VRAM, MiniMax M3 or GLM 5.3 Flash?
At Q4_K_M, MiniMax M3 requires 256.7 GB while GLM 5.3 Flash needs 194.6 GB, making GLM 5.3 Flash the easier model to run on your local setup.
Can I run MiniMax M3 or GLM 5.3 Flash on a 16 GB GPU?
MiniMax M3 does not fit (smallest quant needs 119.2 GB); GLM 5.3 Flash does not fit (smallest quant needs 100.7 GB).
Which has a longer context window, MiniMax M3 or GLM 5.3 Flash?
MiniMax M3 supports 1,048,576 tokens and GLM 5.3 Flash supports 1,048,576 tokens.