MiniMax H3
Best value in video: top-rated image to video with sound at about $5 a minute. Weights barred in US, EU, UK.
Should you use it?
Pick it if
Anyone animating images or making many clips on a budget.
Best for: Animating images or making many clips with sound on a budget (Video models Top 20)
Skip it if
You mostly start from text prompts and want the top text to video pick; try Wan 3.0 or Gemini Omni Flash 1.1.
You give up: Open weights barred in the US, EU, UK and South Korea; weaker from text prompts
The short version
- What this is
- MiniMax's video model that makes clips with sound from text or images. You can use it through MiniMax's API or the Hailuo web app; base weights are downloadable in some countries.
- Why it matters
- It matches the best video models in blind tests on image to video at a fraction of their price.
- Scores 84 for video from 8th on Arena text to video; first on both main image to video boards.
- About $4.80 per minute at 768p through the API.
- Open weights exist, but the license bars the US, EU, UK and South Korea.
Good at
Our take
MiniMax H3 is the value pick in video. It leads both main image to video boards s1 s3 and is in the top 10 for text to video s2 s4, at roughly 40% of Wan 3.0's per-minute price on Artificial Analysis s4.
The open weights matter less than they sound for most readers. Only H3-Base is open, the license excludes the US, EU, UK and South Korea, and MiniMax's own hardware notes start at multiple data-center GPUs s7. For most people the API or the Hailuo app is the way in.
Score
A score from 0 to 100 per job, against everything available today. Overall 84 across 1 job, the average of the job scores.
New to this? What the scores and labels mean
- 0 to 100
- Our score for one job, like writing or coding, compared with everything else out today. 100 is the best available today. For AI models we build it from public data, such as Arena's blind votes and Epoch AI's independent tests; apps and tools are scored on our own checklist. The same tool can score differently for different jobs, and where two likely ranges overlap, we call it a tie.
- Our verdict
- Use it: a top choice for most people. Worth trying: good, and worth a go. Depends: good for some people or one kind of job. Wait: too early to tell, or not out for everyone yet. Skip: something else does the job better.
- First look
- Just released. We say what it is and whether to bother, and give it a score once public results exist.
- No score yet
- None of the public sources we use covers it yet, or the only evidence is from a source whose numbers we can't use, so we describe it in words instead.
- Best buy
- Nothing cheaper scores as well for that job.
- Best free
- The best score for that job that costs nothing, through a free plan or by running on your own computer.
- Pay as you go
- No monthly plan: you pay for each use, usually through a developer account.
- Checked
- The day we last confirmed the score and the price against the sources. Prices change often, so check the date.
- AI model
- The engine underneath, like GPT or Claude. You use it through an app or, if you code, directly.
- Open source
- Free to download and run on your own computer, so nothing leaves your machine.
#5 of the 5 we have scored for this job.
From blind votes (Arena) · Arena data, CC BY 4.0
2 sourcesData read 20 Oct
Alternatives
Better or cheaper for video, from our scores, then the ones we'd also look at. The same kind of product comes first.
- Gemini Omni Flash 1.1BetterVideo model100$4.99 a monthScores 100 in video, against 84 here; $4.99 a month. Pick it for the top arena.ai text to video rank. Side by side
- Wan 3.0Video model89Pay as you goPick it for longer clips (up to 30 seconds) and stronger text to video. Side by side
Evidence
Everything behind the call and the scores, folded so the page stays short. Spotted a wrong price, score or link? Report a mistake.
How we scored this
The video score is our own, built from public data: blind votes on Arena and, where they cover the job, Epoch AI's independent tests. How we combine them is our method and we don't publish it.
Public leaderboardIndependent test
Reviews are drafted with help from AI models, including Anthropic's Claude. Model scores come only from outside leaderboards and independent evaluations, by a written rule.
No one paid for this review or gave us free access, and we earn nothing if you sign up. How we score
Sources 7
- s1arena.ai Image to Video leaderboard
- s2arena.ai Text to Video leaderboard
- s3Artificial Analysis image to video leaderboard
- s4Artificial Analysis text to video leaderboard
- s5MiniMax API pay as you go pricing
- s6MiniMax blog: MiniMax H3
- s7MiniMax docs: run and self-host MiniMax H3
Something here out of date or wrong? Report a mistake and we will check it against the source.
History 2 changes
Every change to a rating, the price or our call, with the reason. Scores are against what exists on the day, so they drift down as better things ship. Older entries come from before we moved to scores.
- New: Video ratedReviewed: video. Same day: re-derived under our updated rules.
- Audit: removed the MiniMax H3 Max Turbo alternative, which pointed to a review that does not exist (the catalog skips it). Rating re-derived, unchanged.
Use it well 4 guides on this site
Pages on this site that help with the jobs above.