How to Use MiniMax 2.5 for Free

MiniMax M2.5 is one of the most powerful AI models available today, achieving top rankings across multiple benchmarks including an impressive 80.2% on SWE-Bench. The best part? You can actually use it for free! In this guide, we'll walk you through all the ways to access MiniMax M2.5 without spending a single penny.

MiniMax M2.5

What is MiniMax M2.5?

MiniMax M2.5 is a comprehensively upgraded general-purpose large language model from MiniMax, a leading AI technology company founded in December 2021. Key highlights include:

• Top Performance: Ranks #1 on SWE-Bench (80.2%), demonstrating exceptional coding capabilities
• Lightning Speed: 37% faster inference, rivaling Anthropic's Claude Opus
• Cost-Effective: Only $1 per hour for long-running sessions
• Advanced Features: Chain of Thought (CoT) up to 128k tokens, function calling, and multi-modal support

Ways to Use MiniMax M2.5 for Free

1. MiniMax Agent (Completely Free)

The easiest way to try MiniMax M2.5 is through their AI assistant product - MiniMax Agent.

MiniMax Agent is completely free to use and gives you direct access to M2.5's capabilities without any technical setup.

How to Use:

1. Visit https://agent.minimax.io/
2. Sign up for a free account
3. Start chatting with M2.5 immediately
4. No API key or coding required

Features Available:

• Text generation and conversation
• Code writing assistance
• Multi-turn conversations
• Web search capabilities

2. Free API Credits for New Users

MiniMax provides free credits for new users who sign up on their API platform. This allows developers to test the API without any initial payment.

Steps to Get Free Credits:

1. Register an Account

   • Go to https://platform.minimax.io
   • Click on "Console Login" or "Register"
   • Complete the registration process
   • Verify your email

2. Get Your API Key

   • After logging in, navigate to Account Management → API Keys
   • Create a new API Key
   • Copy and securely store your API key

3. Explore the API

   • Visit the Developer Docs
   • Try the API Console for interactive testing
   • Check the Quick Start Guide

Note: The exact amount of free credits may vary. Check the current promotions on the platform for the latest offers.

3. Coding Plan - Developer-Friendly Subscription

MiniMax offers a special Coding Plan designed specifically for developers who need AI assistance for coding tasks. While not completely free, it offers extremely competitive pricing.

Coding Plan Features:

• Optimized for coding and agent scenarios
• Anthropic API compatible - easy migration
• Hourly billing - pay only for what you use
• As low as $1 per hour for long sessions

How to Subscribe:

1. Visit https://platform.minimax.io/subscribe/coding-plan
2. Choose a plan that fits your needs
3. Link your payment method
4. Start coding with M2.5!

4. Integration with Popular AI Coding Tools

MiniMax M2.5 can be integrated with many popular AI coding tools, often with free trial periods:

Tool	Integration Guide
Claude Code	Use M2.5 in Claude Code
Cursor	Configure Cursor with MiniMax
Cline	M2.5 with Cline extension
Roo Code	Roo Code + MiniMax setup
Zed	Zed editor integration
OpenCode	OpenCode configuration

Many of these tools offer their own free tiers that can be combined with MiniMax's offerings.

API Integration Guide

Once you have your API key, here's how to integrate MiniMax M2.5 into your applications:

Using the Anthropic-Compatible API

MiniMax provides an Anthropic API-compatible endpoint, making it easy to switch from Claude:

import anthropic

client = anthropic.Anthropic(
    api_key="your-minimax-api-key",
    base_url="https://api.minimax.chat/v1"  # MiniMax endpoint
)

response = client.messages.create(
    model="minimax-m2.5",
    max_tokens=1024,
    messages=[
        {"role": "user", "content": "Hello, MiniMax!"}
    ]
)

print(response.content[0].text)

Using cURL

curl https://api.minimax.chat/v1/messages \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "model": "minimax-m2.5",
    "max_tokens": 1024,
    "messages": [
      {"role": "user", "content": "Hello, MiniMax!"}
    ]
  }'

Using Node.js

import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';

const client = new Anthropic({
  apiKey: 'your-minimax-api-key',
  baseURL: 'https://api.minimax.chat/v1',
});

async function main() {
  const message = await client.messages.create({
    model: 'minimax-m2.5',
    max_tokens: 1024,
    messages: [
      { role: 'user', content: 'Hello, MiniMax!' }
    ],
  });

  console.log(message.content[0].text);
}

main();

Pricing Overview

While there are free options available, here's the general pricing structure for MiniMax M2.5:

Text Model Pricing

Model	Price	Context	Best For
M2.5 (abab6.5s)	¥0.001/1K tokens	245k	General & complex tasks
M2.1 (abab6.5t)	¥0.005/1K tokens	8k	Entertainment & chat
M2.5g (abab6.5g)	¥0.005/1K tokens	8k	English companionship

Note: Prices in CNY, approximate conversion rates apply. Check official pricing for current rates.

Coding Plan Benefits

• Pay-per-use: Only pay for the time you actually use
• No TPM charges: TPM (Tokens Per Minute) is not separately charged
• Hourly billing: As low as $1/hour
• High throughput: Optimized for high-volume coding tasks

Free MiniMax Products

Beyond M2.5, MiniMax offers several completely free products:

Product	URL	Description
MiniMax Agent	https://agent.minimax.io	AI assistant for work and life
MiniMax Audio	https://www.minimax.io/audio	AI voice generation (40 languages)
Hailuo Video	https://hailuoai.video	AI video generation (1080p)

Tips for Maximizing Free Usage

1. Start with MiniMax Agent: The quickest way to experience M2.5 for free
2. Join Community Events: MiniMax often runs promotional events with bonus credits
3. Refer Friends: Check for referral programs that unlock additional benefits
4. Use Efficient Prompts: Well-crafted prompts reduce token usage and save credits
5. Enable Prompt Caching: Use prompt caching for repeated queries to save on tokens
6. Monitor Usage: Track your token consumption in the dashboard

MiniMax M2.5 Capabilities

When you start using MiniMax M2.5, you'll have access to these powerful features:

Coding Excellence

• Top-ranked on SWE-Bench (80.2%)
• Supports multiple programming languages
• Excellent at debugging, code review, and generation
• Function calling capabilities

Advanced Reasoning

• Chain of Thought (CoT) reasoning
• Up to 128k token context window
• Multi-step problem solving
• Mathematical and logical reasoning

Multi-Modal Support

• Text understanding and generation
• Image understanding capabilities
• Voice input/output integration
• Video understanding (via other models)

Production Ready

• Low latency response
• High throughput
• Reliable infrastructure
• Global availability

Getting Help and Support

If you encounter any issues or have questions:

• Documentation: https://platform.minimax.io/docs
• Community: Join the official Discord
• Email: [email protected]
• GitHub: https://github.com/MiniMax-AI

Conclusion

MiniMax M2.5 offers an excellent opportunity to access state-of-the-art AI capabilities for free or at very low cost. Whether you're a developer looking to integrate AI into your applications, or just want to explore the capabilities of a powerful LLM, MiniMax provides accessible options for everyone.

Quick Start Checklist:

• Sign up at agent.minimax.io for instant free access
• Register at platform.minimax.io for API access
• Create your API key
• Try the interactive API console
• Explore the documentation
• Integrate M2.5 into your preferred coding tool

Start exploring MiniMax M2.5 today and experience one of the most powerful AI models available - for free!

Related Resources

• MiniMax Official Website
• MiniMax M2.5 Announcement
• Developer Documentation
• API Reference
• Pricing Information