Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K3
At a Glance
| Compare |  Kimi K2.5Moonshot AI | Kimi K3Moonshot AI |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v4.4 | UnrankedNot in the 57-model eligible cohort | #13 of 5773.3 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | UnrankedNot in the 27-model eligible cohort | #19 of 27$0.163 per LiveBench case |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.9 | UnrankedNot in the 27-model eligible cohort | #12 of 2750.1 score · 3/3 sources · complete |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.45Deepinfra ↗ · Aug 29, 2026 | $0.239Openrouter ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $2.25Deepinfra ↗ · Aug 29, 2026 | $11.936Openrouter ↗ · Oct 19, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 262K | 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
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | Kimi-K2.5 | Kimi-K3 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Moonshot AI | Moonshot AI |
| Family | Kimi K2 5 | Kimi K3 |
| Model | Kimi-K2.5 | Kimi-K3 |
| Version | Kimi-K2.5 | Kimi-K3 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-01-27 | 2026-07-16 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 262K | 1,049K |
| Total parameters | 1.03T | 2.78T |
| Active parameters | 32B | 104B |
| 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 |
Kimi K2.5 Capabilities
Kimi K3 Capabilities
Related Comparisons
All embedding comparisons →| A | Pair | B | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
Kimi-K2.5Moonshot AI | vs | Kimi-K2.6Moonshot AI | family variantsembedding, image, text |
 DeepSeek-V4.1-FlashDeepSeek | vs | Kimi-K2.5Moonshot AI | cross-developer peersimage, 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 K3 FAQs
Is Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K3 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Kimi K2.5 and Kimi K3, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K3?+
Kimi K2.5 is $0.45 and Kimi K3 is $0.239 per million tokens, so Kimi K3 is cheaper on this metric. Kimi K2.5 is $2.25 and Kimi K3 is $11.936 per million tokens, so Kimi K2.5 is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K3?+
Kimi K3 has the larger sourced context window. Kimi K2.5 supports 262,144 tokens and Kimi K3 supports 1,048,576 tokens.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K3?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K3 be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same sourced self-hosting status: supported. Kimi K2.5 is open weight; Kimi K3 is open weight.
Can Kimi K2.5 and Kimi K3 understand images?+
Kimi K2.5 is documented with image input; Kimi K3 is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K3?+
Neither model has a sourced maximum output in this comparison, so a larger limit cannot be determined.
Do Kimi K2.5 and Kimi K3 support reasoning and tool use?+
Kimi K2.5: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Kimi K3: reasoning and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K3?+
Kimi K2.5 has 3 sourced provider routes; Kimi K3 has 5, so Kimi K3 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Kimi K2.5 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.