Kimi K2.6 vs Grok 4.3
At a Glance
| Compare |  Kimi K2.6Moonshot AI | Grok 4.3xAI |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | #40 of 4616.6 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 11.1–44.4 |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | #21 of 44$0.095 per LiveBench case | #7 of 44$0.028 per LiveBench case |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.5 | #24 of 3850.1 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 41.7–58.4 | #33 of 3846.0 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 43.3–59.9 |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.75Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 21, 2026 | $1.25Xai ↗ · Sep 3, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $3.50Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 21, 2026 | $2.50Xai ↗ · Sep 3, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 262K | 1,000K |
| Model facts checked | Aug 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
| Benchmark | Kimi-K2.6 | Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,454.92100% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.6; 95% CI [1450.40277919, 1459.43693683]; votes 37502; rank 38 | 1,397.7396% of row best · rating · grok-4.3; 95% CI [1394.01930088, 1401.44639527]; votes 66801; rank 145 |
| LMArena Vision Arenavision-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,280.40100% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.6; 95% CI [1273.38025179, 1287.42397051]; votes 15347; rank 28 | 1,229.4796% of row best · rating · grok-4.3; 95% CI [1223.17337452, 1235.75913440]; votes 22688; rank 67 |
| LiveBench2026-06-25 · overall · leader | 74.18100% of row best · percent · kimi-k2.6-thinking · 27,001 output tokens / case | 69.2793% of row best · percent · grok-4.3 · 11,184 output tokens / case |
| ToneBench2026-09-11-10-task-4ef099199c9c · overall_score · unverified | 82.24100% of row best · points · Kimi K2.6 (thinking) · 18,080 output tokens / case | 74.9191% of row best · points · Grok 4.3 (high) · 5,154 output tokens / case |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 3 benchmark winsOverall lead | 0 benchmark wins |
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-K2.6 | Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Moonshot AI | xAI |
| Family | Kimi K2 6 | Grok 4 |
| Model | Kimi-K2.6 | Grok 4.3 |
| Version | Kimi-K2.6 | Grok 4.3 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-04-20 | 2026-06-17 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 262K | 1,000K |
| Total parameters | 1T | Unknown |
| Active parameters | 32B | Unknown |
| License | other | Unknown |
| Open weights | Yes | No |
| API available | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | No |
| Provider access | Deepinfra (Standard), Fireworks Ai (Standard), Hugging Face (Standard), Openrouter (Standard), Together Ai (Standard) | Xai (Standard) |
| Capabilities | chat, generation, reasoning, tools | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools |
Kimi K2.6 Capabilities
Grok 4.3 Capabilities
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Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Kimi K2.6 vs Grok 4.3 FAQs
Is Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.3 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Kimi K2.6 and Grok 4.3, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.3?+
Kimi K2.6 is $0.75 and Grok 4.3 is $1.25 per million tokens, so Kimi K2.6 is cheaper on this metric. Kimi K2.6 is $3.50 and Grok 4.3 is $2.50 per million tokens, so Grok 4.3 is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.3?+
Grok 4.3 has the larger sourced context window. Kimi K2.6 supports 262K and Grok 4.3 supports 1,000K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.3?+
Kimi K2.6 leads the current overall benchmark count. The result uses 3 protocol-matched benchmarks from 2 publishers; it is not a universal quality score.
Can Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.3 be self-hosted?+
Kimi K2.6 is the only model in this pair currently marked as self-hostable. Kimi K2.6 is open weight; Grok 4.3 is not marked open weight.
Can Kimi K2.6 and Grok 4.3 understand images?+
Kimi K2.6 is documented with image input; Grok 4.3 is documented with image input. This reflects supported input modalities, not vision quality.
Which can generate longer answers, Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.3?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. Kimi K2.6 is — and Grok 4.3 is —.
Do Kimi K2.6 and Grok 4.3 support reasoning and tool use?+
Kimi K2.6: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Grok 4.3: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.3?+
Kimi K2.6 has 5 sourced provider routes; Grok 4.3 has 1, so Kimi K2.6 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.3?+
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.