During the week of October 20‑23 2026, OpenRouter listed two MiniMax M3.1 variants: the standard minimax/minimax‑m3.1‑flash released on October 23 and a free‑tier version (minimax/minimax‑m3.1‑flash:free) that appeared on October 20. The “flash” designation denotes a low‑latency, cost‑effective inference model intended for high‑volume tasks such as summarization, classification, and structured extraction, and the free tier provides a zero‑cost benchmark for evaluating throughput and quality before committing to a paid subscription. Separately, Moonshot AI introduced moonshotai/kimi‑k3.1‑pro on October 24, expanding its K3 series; the “Pro” label indicates a tier above any base or flash counterpart, though pricing data remain unavailable as the model is newly listed. No price adjustments occurred for any of the tracked providers — Claude, GPT, Gemini, DeepSeek, and Grok — maintaining a stable cost environment for ongoing projects. The absence of rate changes signals market stability, allowing developers to lock in budgets without unexpected cost fluctuations. Observers should monitor the eventual pricing of Kimi K3.1 Pro, potential lagged price responses from major vendors, and further MiniMax M3.1 variant releases.