Quick verdict
Pick MiniMax H3 when ranked quality is the brief: it sits above Veo 3.1 on both LMArena boards (1460[9] against 1364[10] on text-to-video, 1495[4] against 1398[11] on image-to-video), generates 15 s[1] in one pass against 8 s[6], and accepts 12[1] reference files against 3[6] images. Pick Veo 3.1 for the price floor and the ceilings H3 lacks: the Lite tier starts at $0.05/s[8] against H3's $0.08/s[3], 4K output exists on 8-second clips[6], and extensions build a video out to 148 s[6] at 720p.
- Pricing Veo 3.1
- Output specs MiniMax H3
- Features Tie
- Access Tie
- Public leaderboards MiniMax H3
Category winners are computed from the sourced rows in the tables below; “Depends” means there was not enough comparable public data to call it.
Summary
MiniMax launched H3 on 2026-07-31[2] with native stereo audio and multi-shot modeling[2]; Google's Veo 3.1 reached the Gemini API on 2025-10-15[12] and remains a paid preview there[12]. Both generate sound with the picture and both run at 24 frames per second[5][6].
The spec sheet favours H3 on working room: 15 s[1] per generation against 8 s[6], and up to 12[1] mixed reference files (9 images, 3 videos and 3 audio clips[1]) against 3[6] reference images. Veo claws back on ceilings: 1080p and 4K renders on 8-second clips[6] where MiniMax states a 2K maximum[2], plus extensions of 7 seconds at a time out to 148 s[6] at 720p; we found no extension feature in H3's documentation.
Pricing splits by tier rather than by model. H3 charges one flat rate per resolution: $0.08/s[3] at 768P and $0.13/s[3] at 2K[3]. Veo 3.1 spans $0.05/s[8] (Lite, 720p) to $0.60/s[8] (Standard, 4K), so its cheapest tier undercuts H3 while its flagship tier costs five times H3's base rate ($0.40/s[8] at 720p). On consumer routes only Google sells plans: Google AI Pro at $19.99/mo[13] includes a limited Veo 3.1 Lite trial, and full Veo 3.1 starts with Google AI Ultra from $99.99/mo[13]. MiniMax instead offers pay-as-you-go API access plus open H3-Base weights for self-hosting[5].
Snapshot
| Spec | MiniMax H3 | Veo 3.1 |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Generally available (public pay-as-you-go API; open-weight H3-Base checkpoints on Hugging Face)[2] | Paid preview in the Gemini API (Google's current model list names veo-3.1-generate-preview and veo-3.1-lite-generate-preview as Preview models; Veo 3.1 Fast rates are still published on the pricing page); also served via Vertex AI, the Gemini app and Flow[12] |
| Developer | MiniMax[2] | Google[12] |
| Released | 2026-07-31 (MiniMax H3)[2] | 2025-10-15[12] |
| Lowest API price (per second, with audio) | from $0.08/s (— 768P)[3] | from $0.05/s (Lite)[8] |
| Cheapest paid consumer plan | No public data | $19.99/mo Google AI Pro $99.99/mo Google AI Ultra[13] |
| Free tier | No public data | Gemini API free tier: Not available for Veo 3.1 Standard, Fast or Lite (paid tier only)[8] |
| Max length, single generation | 15 s (MiniMax H3)[1] | 8 s[6] |
| Max resolution | 2K[2] | 4k (8s length only)[6] |
| Native audio | Yes (MiniMax H3)[2] | Yes[7] |
| Image-to-video | Yes (MiniMax H3)[1] | Yes[7] |
| Public API | Yes (MiniMax platform API)[3] | Yes[12] |
Pricing
Winner: Veo 3.1| Metric | MiniMax H3 | Veo 3.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| API price, 720p with audio (per second) | $0.08/s (— 768P)[3] | $0.40/s Standard $0.10/s Fast $0.05/s Lite[8] | Veo 3.1 |
| API price, 1080p with audio (per second) | $0.13/s (— 2K)[3] | $0.40/s Standard $0.12/s Fast $0.08/s Lite[8] | Veo 3.1 |
| API price, 4K (per second) | No public data | $0.60/s Standard $0.30/s Fast[8] | — |
| API billing basis | Pay-as-you-go per second of output, by resolution: 768P $0.08/s, 2K $0.13/s (H3-Max variant: 480P $0.05/s, 768P $0.08/s). Input audio free; first 5 input images free, then $0.04/image. Prepaid video packages do not support H3.[3] | Per second of successfully generated video, with audio included by default; price varies by tier (Standard / Fast / Lite) and by output resolution (720p / 1080p / 4k)[8] | — |
| Cheapest paid consumer plan | No public data | $19.99/mo Google AI Pro $99.99/mo Google AI Ultra[13] | — |
| Consumer plan ladder | No public data | Google AI Pro $19.99/month (1,000 Google Flow Credits, limited trial of Veo 3.1 Lite); Google AI Ultra from $99.99/month (10,000 or 25,000 Google Flow Credits, full Veo 3.1)[13] | — |
| In-app cost per second | No public data | No public data | — |
| Free tier | No public data | Gemini API free tier: Not available for Veo 3.1 Standard, Fast or Lite (paid tier only)[8] | — |
MiniMax H3 leads 0 rows, Veo 3.1 leads 2, 0 tied; rows marked — have no comparable data or no objective “better”.
Output specs
Winner: MiniMax H3| Metric | MiniMax H3 | Veo 3.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Max length, single generation | 15 s (MiniMax H3)[1] | 8 s[6] | MiniMax H3 |
| Max length with extensions | No public data | 148 s (with extensions, 720p)[6] | — |
| Max output resolution | No public data | 2160p (4K) (Standard)[6] | — |
| Frame rate | 24 fps (MiniMax-H3 (Hugging Face model card))[5] | 24 fps[6] | Tie |
| Aspect ratios | 21:9, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 3:4, 9:16 and more (API: common ratios or adaptive; input aspect ratio must be within 2:5–5:2)[5] | 16:9 (default), 9:16[6] | — |
| Max reference inputs per generation | 12 (— reference generation)[1] | 3[6] | MiniMax H3 |
MiniMax H3 leads 2 rows, Veo 3.1 leads 0, 1 tied; rows marked — have no comparable data or no objective “better”.
Features
Tie| Metric | MiniMax H3 | Veo 3.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Native audio | Yes (MiniMax H3)[2] | Yes[7] | Tie |
| Lip-sync | No public data | No public data | — |
| Text-to-video | Yes (MiniMax H3)[1] | Yes[7] | Tie |
| Image-to-video | Yes (MiniMax H3)[1] | Yes[7] | Tie |
| First / last frame control | Yes (MiniMax H3)[1] | Yes[12] | Tie |
| Multi-shot in one generation | Yes (MiniMax H3)[2] | No public data | — |
| Video editing | Yes (MiniMax H3)[2] | Yes (Lite)[14] | Tie |
| Video extension | No public data | Yes[7] | — |
MiniMax H3 leads 0 rows, Veo 3.1 leads 0, 5 tied; rows marked — have no comparable data or no objective “better”.
Access
Tie| Metric | MiniMax H3 | Veo 3.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status | Generally available (public pay-as-you-go API; open-weight H3-Base checkpoints on Hugging Face)[2] | Paid preview in the Gemini API (Google's current model list names veo-3.1-generate-preview and veo-3.1-lite-generate-preview as Preview models; Veo 3.1 Fast rates are still published on the pricing page); also served via Vertex AI, the Gemini app and Flow[12] | — |
| Public API | Yes (MiniMax platform API)[3] | Yes[12] | Tie |
| Where to use it | MiniMax platform API (platform.minimax.io, pay-as-you-go); open-weight H3-Base checkpoints on Hugging Face (MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-H3) for self-hosting; H3-Max speed variant also priced on the MiniMax platform[5] | Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Vertex AI; Gemini app; Flow[12] | — |
| Regional limits | No public data | In EU, UK, CH and MENA locations, allow_adult is the only permitted personGeneration value[6] | — |
| Release date | 2026-07-31 (MiniMax H3)[2] | 2025-10-15[12] | — |
MiniMax H3 leads 0 rows, Veo 3.1 leads 0, 1 tied; rows marked — have no comparable data or no objective “better”.
Public leaderboards
Winner: MiniMax H3| Metric | MiniMax H3 | Veo 3.1 | Leader |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena text-to-video score | 1460 ±9 (minimax-h3)[9] | 1364 ±14 (veo-3.1-audio)[10] | MiniMax H3 |
| LMArena text-to-video rank (of 48) | #8 (minimax-h3)[9] | #12 (veo-3.1-audio)[10] | — |
| LMArena image-to-video score | 1495 ±5 (minimax-h3)[4] | 1398 ±10 (veo-3.1-audio)[11] | MiniMax H3 |
| LMArena image-to-video rank (of 48) | #1 (minimax-h3)[4] | #13 (veo-3.1-audio)[11] | — |
| VGI-Bench overall score | No public data | 32.0[15] | — |
MiniMax H3 leads 2 rows, Veo 3.1 leads 0, 0 tied; rows marked — have no comparable data or no objective “better”.
How rows are judged: a lower price, a longer clip, a higher resolution or frame rate, more reference inputs and a supported feature win. Prices of a discontinued product are shown as historical and cannot win. LMArena scores are human-preference ratings (board snapshot dated 2026-09-21, read 2026-10-07); scores whose ± intervals overlap count as a tie. VGI-Bench is a research benchmark of visual reasoning. A row marked — has no comparable data.
Where each model leads
Where MiniMax H3 leads
Arena standing and input flexibility. H3 holds rank #8[9] on text-to-video and rank #1[4] on image-to-video at LMArena[9][4], and both gaps to Veo 3.1 exceed the published confidence intervals. Reference-to-video takes images, video clips and audio in one request[1], and bracketed camera tags like [pan] and [zoom] steer the virtual camera[1]. MiniMax's earlier video line is covered in our Hailuo 02 review , useful context for the company's trajectory.
Where Veo 3.1 leads
Tier range and finished-video length. Veo 3.1 publishes three audio-included price points per resolution, down to $0.05/s[8] on Lite at 720p[8], supports first-and-last-frame transitions[12], and extends clips to 148 s[6]. It also runs inside the Gemini app and Flow[12], consumer surfaces H3 has no equivalent for[3]. Note that the Gemini API lists no free tier for any Veo 3.1 variant[8].
To price a real brief rather than a rate card, run the same storyboard through AIContentDrop : plans start at $19/mo, or $14/mo billed annually, and the free tier's 10 credits let you test before upgrading[16].
Which should you choose?
Frequently asked questions
Which ranks higher on LMArena?
MiniMax H3, on both boards: rank #8[9] against rank #12[10] on text-to-video, and rank #1[4] against rank #13[11] on image-to-video. Both score gaps exceed the boards' published confidence intervals.
Which is cheaper per second?
It depends on the tier. Veo 3.1 Lite at $0.05/s[8] (720p) sits below H3's $0.08/s[3] at 768P, and Veo 3.1 Fast at $0.12/s[8] (1080p) is just below H3's 2K rate of $0.13/s[3]. Veo 3.1 Standard, though, costs $0.40/s[8], five times H3's base rate.
Which makes longer videos?
In one pass, H3: 15 s[1] against 8 s[6]. With extensions Veo 3.1 reaches 148 s[6] at 720p; we found no extension feature in MiniMax's H3 documentation.
Evidence
Only official sources are cited: vendor pages, and leaderboard publishers for their own rankings. Anything we could not find on such a page is shown as “No public data”.
- MiniMax API Docs — Video Generation guide — MiniMax. platform.minimax.io/docs/guides/video-generation. Checked 2026-10-07
- MiniMax — 'MiniMax H3' launch announcement — MiniMax. www.minimax.io/blog/minimax-h3. Checked 2026-10-07
- MiniMax API Docs — Product Pricing (overview) — MiniMax. platform.minimax.io/docs/pricing/overview. Checked 2026-10-07
- Arena (arena.ai) — Image-to-Video Leaderboard — arena.ai. arena.ai/leaderboard/image-to-video. Checked 2026-10-07
- Hugging Face — MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-H3 model card (vendor-published) — MiniMax (MiniMaxAI on Hugging Face). huggingface.co/MiniMaxAI/MiniMax-H3. Checked 2026-10-07
- Gemini API — Generate videos with Veo — Google. ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/veo. Checked 2026-10-06
- Gemini API — Video generation docs index — Google. ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/video. Checked 2026-10-06
- Gemini API — Pricing (Veo 3.1 Standard / Fast / Lite) — Google. ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/pricing. Checked 2026-10-06
- Arena (arena.ai) — Text-to-Video Leaderboard — arena.ai. arena.ai/leaderboard/text-to-video. Checked 2026-10-07
- Text-to-Video Arena leaderboard — LMArena (arena.ai). arena.ai/leaderboard/text-to-video. Checked 2026-10-06
- Image-to-Video Arena leaderboard — LMArena (arena.ai). arena.ai/leaderboard/image-to-video. Checked 2026-10-06
- Introducing Veo 3.1 and new creative capabilities in the Gemini API — Google Developers Blog. developers.googleblog.com/introducing-veo-3-1-and-new-creative-capa…. Checked 2026-10-06
- Google AI plans (Google One, US pricing) — Google. one.google.com/intl/en_us/about/google-ai-plans. Checked 2026-10-06
- Gemini API — Models list (Veo 3.1, Veo 3.1 Lite) — Google. ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/models. Checked 2026-10-06
- VGI-Bench leaderboard (EMNLP 2026) — VGI-Bench research team. hexuan21.github.io/VGI-Bench. Checked 2026-10-06
- AIContentDrop — Pricing — AIContentDrop. aicontentdrop.com/pricing. Checked 2026-10-07