Kimi K2.6 vs GPT-5 Nano

At a Glance

Compare
Kimi K2.6Moonshot AI
Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency
IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5#32 of 4650.5 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 33.6–67.0#46 of 460.0 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing LiveBench · full-core range 0.0–33.3
CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate#21 of 44$0.095 per LiveBench caseUnrankedNot in the 44-model eligible cohort
EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.5#24 of 3850.1 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 41.7–58.4UnrankedNot in the 38-model eligible cohort
Pricing and Limits
Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens$0.75Deepinfra · Sep 22, 2026$0.025Openrouter · Sep 3, 2026
Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens$3.50Deepinfra · Sep 22, 2026$0.20Openrouter · Sep 3, 2026
Context windowMaximum documented tokens262K400K
Model facts checkedAug 28, 2026View model evidence →Sep 3, 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

All benchmark results →
BenchmarkKimi-K2.6GPT-5 Nano
LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader1,454.92100% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.6; 95% CI [1450.40277919, 1459.43693683]; votes 37502; rank 381,319.7291% of row best · rating · gpt-5-nano-high; 95% CI [1312.87607943, 1326.57003978]; votes 8128; rank 218
LMArena Vision Arenavision-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader1,280.40100% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.6; 95% CI [1273.38025179, 1287.42397051]; votes 15347; rank 281,159.1091% of row best · rating · gpt-5-nano-high; 95% CI [1148.05999135, 1170.13906838]; votes 3948; rank 100
ToneBench2026-09-11-10-task-4ef099199c9c · overall_score · unverified82.24100% of row best · points · Kimi K2.6 (thinking) · 18,080 output tokens / case61.6275% of row best · points · GPT-5 nano · 7,465 output tokens / case
Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above2 benchmark winsNo overall winner0 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

FieldKimi-K2.6GPT-5 Nano
DeveloperMoonshot AIOpenAI
FamilyKimi K2 6Gpt 5
ModelKimi-K2.6GPT-5 Nano
VersionKimi-K2.6GPT-5 Nano
Lifecycleactiveactive
Released2026-04-202025-08-07
Knowledge cutoffUnknown2024-05-31
Input modalitiesText, ImageText, Image
Output modalitiesTextText
Context window262K400K
Total parameters1TUnknown
Active parameters32BUnknown
LicenseotherUnknown
Open weightsYesNo
API availableYesYes
Self-hostableYesNo
Provider accessDeepinfra (Standard), Fireworks Ai (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard)Openai (Standard), Openrouter (Standard)
Capabilitieschat, generation, reasoning, toolschat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools

Kimi K2.6 Capabilities

chatgenerationreasoningtools
Serving providers5
Canonical IDmoonshotai/Kimi-K2.6

GPT-5 Nano Capabilities

chatgenerationreasoningstructured outputstools
Serving providers2
Canonical IDopenai/gpt-5-nano

Primary Evidence

Sources and Freshness

Questions

Kimi K2.6 vs GPT-5 Nano FAQs

Is Kimi K2.6 or GPT-5 Nano better for coding?+

This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Kimi K2.6 and GPT-5 Nano, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.

Which is cheaper, Kimi K2.6 or GPT-5 Nano?+

Kimi K2.6 is $0.75 and GPT-5 Nano is $0.025 per million tokens, so GPT-5 Nano is cheaper on this metric. Kimi K2.6 is $3.50 and GPT-5 Nano is $0.20 per million tokens, so GPT-5 Nano is cheaper on this metric.

Which has a larger context window, Kimi K2.6 or GPT-5 Nano?+

GPT-5 Nano has the larger sourced context window. Kimi K2.6 supports 262K and GPT-5 Nano supports 400K.

Which performs better in benchmarks, Kimi K2.6 or GPT-5 Nano?+

There is no overall benchmark winner: An overall winner requires at least two decisive benchmarks from at least two original publishers.

Can Kimi K2.6 or GPT-5 Nano be self-hosted?+

Kimi K2.6 is the only model in this pair currently marked as self-hostable. Kimi K2.6 is open weight; GPT-5 Nano is not marked open weight.

Can Kimi K2.6 and GPT-5 Nano understand images?+

Kimi K2.6 is documented with image input; GPT-5 Nano is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.

Which can generate longer answers, Kimi K2.6 or GPT-5 Nano?+

Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. Kimi K2.6 is — and GPT-5 Nano is 128K.

Do Kimi K2.6 and GPT-5 Nano support reasoning and tool use?+

Kimi K2.6: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. GPT-5 Nano: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.

Which is available from more inference providers, Kimi K2.6 or GPT-5 Nano?+

Kimi K2.6 has 5 sourced provider routes; GPT-5 Nano has 2, so Kimi K2.6 has broader tracked availability.

Which offers better value, Kimi K2.6 or GPT-5 Nano?+

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.

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