Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2.6
At a Glance
| Compare |  Kimi K2.5Moonshot AI | Kimi K2.6Moonshot AI |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.45Deepinfra ↗ · Aug 29, 2026 | $0.65Openrouter ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $2.25Deepinfra ↗ · Aug 29, 2026 | $3.41Openrouter ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 262K | 262K |
| 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 | Kimi-K2.5 | Kimi-K2.6 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Document Arenadocument-2026-09-13-a64ca3b12b6e · arena_rating · leader | 1,430.1099% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.5-thinking; 95% CI [1423.37027866, 1436.81983378]; votes 21569; rank 34 | 1,450.74100% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.6; 95% CI [1443.10467262, 1458.37474735]; votes 11291; rank 27 |
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-10-15-a64ca3b12b6e · arena_rating · leader | 1,445.0299% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.5-thinking; 95% CI [1441.75782956, 1448.27322629]; votes 74759; rank 62 | 1,455.42100% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.6; 95% CI [1451.01237282, 1459.83173802]; votes 40013; rank 44 |
| LMArena Vision Arenavision-2026-10-09-a64ca3b12b6e · arena_rating · leader | 1,268.7799% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.5-thinking; 95% CI [1263.09963340, 1274.44784290]; votes 28297; rank 44 | 1,282.78100% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.6; 95% CI [1275.98531996, 1289.57750584]; votes 16379; rank 33 |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner | 3 benchmark winsNo 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 | Kimi-K2.5 | Kimi-K2.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Moonshot AI | Moonshot AI |
| Family | Kimi K2 5 | Kimi K2 6 |
| Model | Kimi-K2.5 | Kimi-K2.6 |
| Version | Kimi-K2.5 | Kimi-K2.6 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-01-27 | 2026-04-20 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 262K | 262K |
| Total parameters | 1.03T | 1.03T |
| Active parameters | 32B | 32B |
| License | other | other |
| Open weights | Yes | Yes |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Provider access | Deepinfra (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard) | Deepinfra (Standard), Fireworks Ai (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning, tools | chat, generation, reasoning, tools |
Kimi K2.5 Capabilities
Kimi K2.6 Capabilities
Related Comparisons
All embedding comparisons →| A | Pair | B | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
 DeepSeek-V4.1-FlashDeepSeek | vs | Kimi-K2.5Moonshot AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Kimi-K2.5Moonshot AI | vs | Kimi-K3Moonshot AI | family variantsembedding, image, text |
| vs | Kimi-K2.5Moonshot AI | cross-developer peerstext | |
Kimi-K2-ThinkingMoonshot AI | vs | Kimi-K2.5Moonshot AI | family variantstext |
Kimi-K2.5Moonshot AI | vs | Kimi K2.7 CodeMoonshot AI | family variantsimage, text |
| vs | Kimi-K2.5Moonshot AI | cross-developer peersimage, text |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2.6 FAQs
Is Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2.6 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Kimi K2.5 and Kimi K2.6, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2.6?+
Kimi K2.5 is $0.45 and Kimi K2.6 is $0.65 per million tokens, so Kimi K2.5 is cheaper on this metric. Kimi K2.5 is $2.25 and Kimi K2.6 is $3.41 per million tokens, so Kimi K2.5 is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2.6?+
Both models have the same sourced context window: 262,144 tokens each.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2.6?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: An overall winner requires at least two decisive benchmarks from at least two original publishers.
Can Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2.6 be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same sourced self-hosting status: supported. Kimi K2.5 is open weight; Kimi K2.6 is open weight.
Can Kimi K2.5 and Kimi K2.6 understand images?+
Kimi K2.5 is documented with image input; Kimi K2.6 is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2.6?+
Neither model has a sourced maximum output in this comparison, so a larger limit cannot be determined.
Do Kimi K2.5 and Kimi K2.6 support reasoning and tool use?+
Kimi K2.5: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Kimi K2.6: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2.6?+
Kimi K2.5 has 3 sourced provider routes; Kimi K2.6 has 5, so Kimi K2.6 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2.6?+
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.