MiniMax M3.1 Flash vs GLM 5.3 Flash
MiniMax M3.1 Flash took 23 min 37 s and $0.095 at list price, GLM 5.3 Flash took 59 min 10 s and $0.037 at list price. GLM 5.3 Flash took 2.5× as long, and MiniMax M3.1 Flash cost 2.5× as much.
MiniMax M3.1 Flash
MiniMax · $0.60/M out · 550 HN pts
GLM 5.3 Flash
Z.ai · $0.148/M out · 1,329 HN pts
Pelican
Generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle
Watch
Draw a mechanical wristwatch that shows the current local time, with a sweeping seconds hand and a date window. Make it look expensive.
Landing
Build the landing page for Lumen Cycles, a Copenhagen workshop that builds custom cargo bikes to order. Make it look like a real brand you would trust with 4,000 euros.
Breakout
Make a Breakout game I can play right now with the keyboard or the mouse. Give it several levels, a score and some juice.
Logo
Design a logo for Night Heron, an independent bookshop that only opens after dark.
About
Write the opening of the About us page for Patchbay, a three-person studio in Rotterdam that repairs vintage synthesizers. About 150 words.
Patchbay is a three-person studio in Rotterdam dedicated to bringing vintage synthesizers back to life. We repair analog and digital instruments that shaped the sound of music, from classic drum machines and polyphonic synths to quirky, characterful machines that rarely leave a musician’s side. Our work combines technical knowledge with respect for each instrument’s history, because a synth is more than a circuit board: it carries the decisions, compromises, and personality of its original design.
We diagnose faults, restore unreliable voices, and carefully service aging components without erasing the character that made an instrument worth keeping. Whether a machine has been silent for years or simply needs a thoughtful tune-up, we treat every repair as a careful act of restoration.
Based in Rotterdam, Patchbay works with musicians, studios, collectors, and anyone who believes electronic instruments deserve another chapter. We restore them to sound as they should, preserving the details that make each one unique.
Patchbay began the way most repair shops do: with a broken synth, a stubborn owner, and a soldering iron that refused to stay idle. We're three people—Joris, Marit, and Tomas—working out of a small workshop on the back streets of Rotterdam-Noord, surrounded by oscilloscopes, spare parts, and instruments that sometimes arrive in worse condition than their owners admit.
Between us, we've spent decades repairing and restoring vintage synthesizers: Rolands, Moogs, Korgs, Yamahas, and machines whose manuals were never written in the first place. We don't sell anything. We fix things. That focus keeps us honest and keeps the work slow, careful, and done properly.
We believe old instruments deserve to keep making music, not gather dust in attics or fetch prices only collectors can pay. Whether it's a cracked keybed, a dying power supply, or a voice that's gone quiet, we'd like to help bring it back.
Specs and numbers
| MiniMax M3.1 Flash | GLM 5.3 Flash | |
|---|---|---|
| Maker | MiniMax | Z.ai |
| Made in | China | China |
| Released | 19 Oct 2026 | 26 Aug 2026 |
| Price in, per M tokens | $0.15 | $0.016 |
| Price out, per M tokens | $0.60 | $0.148 |
| Context | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Weights | open | open |
| Hacker News points | 550 | 1,329 |
| Time for the six prompts | 23 min 37 s | 59 min 10 s |
| List price of the six prompts | $0.095 | $0.037 |
GLM 5.3 Flash was cheaper: $0.057 less at list price, and less on each of the 6 prompts. MiniMax M3.1 Flash was faster: 35 min 33 s less in total, and faster on 4 of the 6 prompts.
In the recording, both Breakout games play.
Rebuild this screen experiment: MiniMax M3.1 Flash's rebuild matched the screenshot at 78%; GLM 5.3 Flash was not in it. Tea Garden experiment: MiniMax M3.1 Flash's game passed 5 of 5 checks; GLM 5.3 Flash was not in it.