Are MiniMax and Hailuo the Same?

The ambiguity comes from the word “Hailuo” being used both in the Hailuo AI product brand and in earlier model names such as MiniMax-Hailuo-2.3.

That is why one search result can discuss the Hailuo website or app while another discusses Hailuo model resolution, duration, API parameters or model performance.

MiniMax and Hailuo therefore cannot be compared cleanly until the word “Hailuo” is resolved. If you mean Hailuo AI, you are comparing a company/model ecosystem with a product. If you mean Hailuo 2.3, you are comparing two video models.

“Hailuo” is not always referring to the same entity. Hailuo AI is MiniMax's user-facing AI product, while names such as MiniMax-Hailuo-2.3 identify specific video models. This naming overlap is the main reason searches for “MiniMax vs Hailuo” produce apparently conflicting answers.

A page discussing a Hailuo subscription, website or app is normally talking about the product. A page discussing 768p, 1080p, fixed clip durations, API model IDs or camera-command syntax may instead be talking about a Hailuo video model.

Before comparing Hailuo with MiniMax H3, first identify whether “Hailuo” means the Hailuo AI product or the MiniMax-Hailuo-2.3 model.

MiniMax is the AI company behind MiniMax H3, the Hailuo video-model family and user-facing AI products such as Hailuo AI. The company name identifies the developer and broader ecosystem rather than one specific video model.

This distinction matters because searches for “MiniMax” frequently mix company-level information with individual model names. MiniMax H3 is a model developed by MiniMax; it is not another name for the company itself.

Hailuo AI is MiniMax's user-facing AI product and browser experience. It is a product interface rather than the name of one permanent underlying video model.

This distinction became especially important after MiniMax H3 launched. MiniMax's official H3 materials direct users to Hailuo AI for hands-on browser access to H3. That means a user can generate with MiniMax H3 through Hailuo AI without “Hailuo AI” and “MiniMax H3” becoming interchangeable names.

Think of the product and the model as two different layers: the product is where the user interacts; the model is the generation system performing the task.

MiniMax-Hailuo-2.3 is a video-generation model, not the Hailuo AI app itself. MiniMax introduced Hailuo 2.3 as a video model in 2025, and current MiniMax API documentation continues to identify MiniMax-Hailuo-2.3 as a model.

MiniMax's current model catalog places the Hailuo 2.3 family under legacy video models, while MiniMax H3 appears in the current video-model section. “Legacy” describes its position in the current model catalog; it does not automatically mean that every existing Hailuo 2.3 endpoint or workflow has stopped working.

The currently documented Hailuo 2.3 API supports text-to-video and image-to-video, with 768P at 6 or 10 seconds and 1080P at 6 seconds, at 24 fps.

MiniMax H3 is a newer general-purpose multimodal video-generation model from MiniMax. Unlike the older Hailuo 2.3 model family, H3 is designed around unified context across text, images, video and audio and can generate video with native stereo sound.

MiniMax's current documentation positions MiniMax H3 as the current video-model family, while Hailuo 2.3 appears in the legacy-model group. H3 and Hailuo 2.3 are therefore model names from different generations of MiniMax's video stack, not two names for the same model.

Because a product interface and the model it provides access to are different layers. Hailuo AI can offer MiniMax H3 as a generation option while remaining a distinct product entity.

MiniMax's official H3 launch materials explicitly direct users to Hailuo AI for browser-based H3 generation. Using H3 through Hailuo AI therefore does not mean “Hailuo AI” is the model name. It means Hailuo AI is one way to access the H3 model.

Product access and model identity should not be confused: Hailuo AI is where a user can interact with H3, while MiniMax H3 is the model performing the generation.

Similar search phrases can refer to different layers of the same ecosystem. Resolve the entity before interpreting technical claims.

Two pages containing the word “Hailuo” can therefore describe different entities and still both be correct. Check the exact product or model name before comparing specifications, prices or capabilities.

MiniMax and Hailuo AI are related, but they are not peers of the same entity type. One is the company; the other is a user-facing product.

MiniMax vs Hailuo AI is therefore primarily a company-versus-product relationship, not a model benchmark.

This is the comparison that is actually model versus model.

H3 vs Hailuo 2.3 is a valid model comparison. MiniMax vs Hailuo AI is not the same comparison.

MiniMax H3 and MiniMax M3 are another naming pair that can be confused in search. H3 is MiniMax's multimodal video-generation model, while M3 belongs to MiniMax's language, coding and agent model family. If that is the comparison you intended, use the dedicated MiniMax M3 vs H3 guide.

Looking for first-party H3 destinations rather than a naming explanation? See the verified MiniMax H3 official resources.

If your real goal is to create with H3 rather than decode the names, continue with the H3 resource that matches your task.

The entity labels and model-status language on this page were checked against first-party MiniMax publications and current API documentation.

Last verified: August 28, 2026