Microsoft Copilot vs MiniMax
Microsoft Copilot and MiniMax are both AI assistants tools. Microsoft Copilot is aimed at enterprise and small businesses, while MiniMax is aimed at developers and small businesses. Microsoft Copilot costs less, from $9.99/mo versus $22/mo for MiniMax. Both have a free plan.
AI assistant inside Windows and Microsoft 365
Low-cost agentic coding models, video and speech via API and M Plan
| Pricing | Freemium · $10 | Freemium · $22 |
| Starting price | $9.99/mo | $22/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Built for | Enterprise, Small businesses | Developers, Small businesses, Enterprise, Creators |
| Platforms | web, macos, windows, ios, android | web, macos, windows, linux, ios, android |
| Country | US · 2023 | — · 2022 |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Microsoft Copilot if
Organizations standardized on Microsoft 365.
- Deep integration where people already work
- Enterprise-grade security and compliance
- Uses organizational context
Look elsewhere if: Google Workspace teams (Gemini) or individuals who prefer ChatGPT or Claude.
Choose MiniMax if
Developers and cost-sensitive teams that run agentic coding and automation workloads and want low token prices behind Anthropic- or OpenAI-style APIs.
- Very low token prices for agentic coding workloads
- Drop-in base URL for tools built on the Anthropic SDK
- One platform covers text, video, speech and image generation
Look elsewhere if: Teams that need top-tier frontier models with mature enterprise admin and compliance controls (Claude, Gemini).
Microsoft Copilot vs MiniMax pricing
Microsoft Copilot
- Copilot (free)$0Limited free version subject to capacity
- Microsoft 365 Personal$9.99/mo$99.99/yr; Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
- Microsoft 365 Family$12.99/mo$129.99/yr; 1-6 people, AI for owner only
- Microsoft 365 Premium$19.99/mo$199.99/yr; extensive Copilot usage, agentic AI
- Microsoft 365 Copilot Business$25.20/user/moAdd-on; $21 paid yearly (promo $18 to 31 Dec 2026)
MiniMax
- MiniMax Code Free$0Limited M3.1 Flash, image and speech use in MiniMax Code
- M3.1 Flash API$0.15/1M input tokensOutput $0.60/1M, cached input $0.015/1M; pay-as-you-go
- M3 API$0.30/1M input tokensUp to 512k input, after permanent 50% off; output $1.20/1M
- M Plan Go$22/moM3.1 Flash, image and speech models; $220 billed yearly
- M Plan Explore$55/mo3x Go usage, adds H3 video; $550 billed yearly
Microsoft Copilot · Key features
- Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams
- Grounded in Microsoft Graph work data
- Meeting recaps and action items in Teams
- Copilot Studio for custom agents
- Enterprise data protection
- Free consumer Copilot with web grounding
Cons
- Per-user business add-on is expensive
- Quality depends on permissions and data hygiene
- Uneven experience across apps
MiniMax · Key features
- MiniMax-M3.1-Flash at $0.15 input and $0.60 output per 1M tokens
- 1M-token context window on M3.1 Flash and M3
- Effort setting on M3.1 Flash, from low to max, to trade thinking depth for cost
- Anthropic- and OpenAI-compatible endpoints, plus the Responses API
- M Plan key usable in Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and OpenCode
- MiniMax Code agent on web, desktop, CLI, iOS and Android
Cons
- M Plan is for individual interactive use, not production traffic
- Usage resets in 5-hour and weekly windows that can cut sessions short
- M2.5 and M2.7 retire on November 18, 2026, forcing migrations
Microsoft Copilot vs MiniMax: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Microsoft Copilot or MiniMax?
Microsoft Copilot starts at $9.99/mo and MiniMax at $22/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Microsoft Copilot and MiniMax have a free plan?
Yes, both Microsoft Copilot and MiniMax have a free plan; paid plans add more usage and features.