DeepSeek R1 vs Kimi K3
At a Glance
| Compare |  DeepSeek R1DeepSeek |  Kimi K3Moonshot AI |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5 | UnrankedNot in the 46-model eligible cohort | #17 of 4670.3 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | UnrankedNot in the 44-model eligible cohort | #30 of 44$0.194 per LiveBench case |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.5 | UnrankedNot in the 38-model eligible cohort | #21 of 3852.5 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.70Openrouter ↗ · Aug 28, 2026 | $2.85Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $2.50Openrouter ↗ · Aug 28, 2026 | $14.25Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 164K | 1,049K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → | Aug 28, 2026View model evidence → |
Token prices are the lowest available sourced USD rates; input and output may use different providers. Cost ranking estimates output spend on LiveBench, not a full request bill. Ranking methodology →
Available Benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek-R1 | Kimi-K3 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,372.6093% of row best · rating · deepseek-r1; 95% CI [1367.75270193, 1377.44238946]; votes 18524; rank 168 | 1,472.27100% of row best · rating · kimi-k3-max; 95% CI [1467.05577758, 1477.48944277]; votes 20987; rank 23 |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner | 1 benchmark winNo overall winner |
Third-party benchmark Only like-for-like primary-publisher results are shown; raw scores, relative scores, configuration, and token spend remain visible.
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | DeepSeek-R1 | Kimi-K3 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | DeepSeek | Moonshot AI |
| Family | Deepseek R1 | Kimi K3 |
| Model | DeepSeek-R1 | Kimi-K3 |
| Version | DeepSeek-R1 | Kimi-K3 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2025-01-20 | 2026-07-16 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 164K | 1,049K |
| Total parameters | 684.5B | 2.8T |
| Active parameters | 37B | 104B |
| License | mit | other |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) | Deepinfra (Standard), Fireworks Ai (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning | chat, generation, reasoning |
DeepSeek R1 Capabilities
Kimi K3 Capabilities
Related Comparisons
All text comparisons →| A | Pair | B | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs | Kimi-K2.6Moonshot AI | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  GPT-6 AstraOpenAI | cross-developer peerstext |
Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic | vs | DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  Gemini 3.1 ProGoogle DeepMind | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs | DeepSeek-V4.1-FlashDeepSeek | family variantstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs | Grok 4.6xAI | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  Qwen3.8-MaxQwen | cross-developer peerstext |
 MiniMax-M3MiniMax | vs | DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  GLM-5.3Z.ai | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  Hy4 previewTencent | cross-developer peerstext |
Seed 2.1 ProByteDance Seed | vs | DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | cross-developer peerstext |
DeepSeek-R1DeepSeek | vs |  Mistral Large 3Mistral AI | cross-developer peerstext |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
DeepSeek R1 vs Kimi K3 FAQs
Is DeepSeek R1 or Kimi K3 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both DeepSeek R1 and Kimi K3, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek R1 or Kimi K3?+
DeepSeek R1 is $0.70 and Kimi K3 is $2.85 per million tokens, so DeepSeek R1 is cheaper on this metric. DeepSeek R1 is $2.50 and Kimi K3 is $14.25 per million tokens, so DeepSeek R1 is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, DeepSeek R1 or Kimi K3?+
Kimi K3 has the larger sourced context window. DeepSeek R1 supports 164K and Kimi K3 supports 1,049K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, DeepSeek R1 or Kimi K3?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can DeepSeek R1 or Kimi K3 be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same recorded self-hosting status: supported. DeepSeek R1 is open weight; Kimi K3 is open weight.
Can DeepSeek R1 and Kimi K3 understand images?+
DeepSeek R1 is not documented with image input; Kimi K3 is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, DeepSeek R1 or Kimi K3?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. DeepSeek R1 is 33K and Kimi K3 is —.
Do DeepSeek R1 and Kimi K3 support reasoning and tool use?+
DeepSeek R1: reasoning. Kimi K3: reasoning and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, DeepSeek R1 or Kimi K3?+
DeepSeek R1 has 2 sourced provider routes; Kimi K3 has 5, so Kimi K3 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, DeepSeek R1 or Kimi K3?+
There is no universal value winner. Compare the input and output prices above with the matched benchmark result for your workload: cheaper tokens can be offset by different quality, token usage, latency, or provider availability.