Kimi K3 vs Grok 4.3
Benchmark Performance
Available Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Kimi-K3 | Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-01-011508720696 · arena_rating · leader | 1,476.31100% of row best · rating · kimi-k3-max; 95% CI [1470.86166728, 1481.76254962]; votes 17895; rank 16 | 1,397.9795% of row best · rating · grok-4.3; 95% CI [1394.22069381, 1401.72787538]; votes 65024; rank 141 |
| LiveBench2026-06-25 · overall · leader | 81.02100% of row best · percent · kimi-k3 · 13,647 output tokens / case | 69.2785% of row best · percent · grok-4.3 · 11,184 output tokens / case |
| ToneBench2026-08-28-10-task-cd9819ab6e4d · overall_score · leader | 88.19100% of row best · points · Kimi K3 · 15,023 output tokens / case | 74.9185% 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.
Technical Differences
Side-by-Side Facts
| Field | Kimi-K3 | Grok 4.3 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Moonshot AI | xAI |
| Family | Kimi K3 | Grok 4 |
| Model | Kimi-K3 | Grok 4.3 |
| Version | Kimi-K3 | Grok 4.3 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2026-07-16 | 2026-06-17 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 1,049K | 1,000K |
| Total parameters | 2.8T | Unknown |
| Active parameters | 104B | 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 | chat, generation, reasoning, structured_outputs, tools |
14 comparable fields · 10 material differences · Pair passes the primary-source comparison gate
Kimi K3 Capabilities
Grok 4.3 Capabilities
Internal Comparison Graph
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Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
Kimi K3 vs Grok 4.3 FAQs
Is Kimi K3 or Grok 4.3 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both Kimi K3 and Grok 4.3, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, Kimi K3 or Grok 4.3?+
Kimi K3 is $2.85 and Grok 4.3 is $1.25 per million tokens, so Grok 4.3 is cheaper on this metric. Kimi K3 is $14.25 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 K3 or Grok 4.3?+
Kimi K3 has the larger sourced context window. Kimi K3 supports 1,049K and Grok 4.3 supports 1,000K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, Kimi K3 or Grok 4.3?+
Kimi K3 leads the current overall benchmark count. The result uses 3 protocol-matched benchmarks from 3 publishers; it is not a universal quality score.
Can Kimi K3 or Grok 4.3 be self-hosted?+
Kimi K3 is the only model in this pair currently marked as self-hostable. Kimi K3 is open weight; Grok 4.3 is not marked open weight.
Can Kimi K3 and Grok 4.3 understand images?+
Kimi K3 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 K3 or Grok 4.3?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. Kimi K3 is — and Grok 4.3 is —.
Do Kimi K3 and Grok 4.3 support reasoning and tool use?+
Kimi K3: reasoning 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 K3 or Grok 4.3?+
Kimi K3 has 5 sourced provider routes; Grok 4.3 has 1, so Kimi K3 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, Kimi K3 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.