phi-4 vs Kimi K2.6
At a Glance
| Compare |  phi-4Microsoft |  Kimi K2.6Moonshot AI |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence, Cost, and Efficiency | ||
| IntelligenceHigher is better · MM Intelligence v2.5 | UnrankedNot in the 46-model eligible cohort | #32 of 4650.5 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 33.6–67.0 |
| CostLower is better · Published-token output estimate | UnrankedNot in the 44-model eligible cohort | #21 of 44$0.095 per LiveBench case |
| EfficiencyHigher is better · MM Efficiency v1.5 | UnrankedNot in the 38-model eligible cohort | #24 of 3850.1 score · 2/3 sources · provisional · missing ARC-AGI-2 · full-core range 41.7–58.4 |
| Pricing and Limits | ||
| Input priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.070Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $0.75Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Output priceFrom · USD / 1M tokens | $0.14Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 | $3.50Deepinfra ↗ · Sep 22, 2026 |
| Context windowMaximum documented tokens | 16K | 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 | phi-4 | Kimi-K2.6 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena Text Arenatext-2026-09-13-d25aabda0010 · arena_rating · leader | 1,216.6084% of row best · rating · phi-4; 95% CI [1212.02298793, 1221.18318193]; votes 24126; rank 300 | 1,454.92100% of row best · rating · kimi-k2.6; 95% CI [1450.40277919, 1459.43693683]; votes 37502; rank 38 |
| Overall ResultCounted from the protocol-matched rows above | 0 benchmark winsNo overall winner | 1 benchmark winNo 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 | phi-4 | Kimi-K2.6 |
|---|---|---|
| Developer | Microsoft | Moonshot AI |
| Family | Phi 4 | Kimi K2 6 |
| Model | phi-4 | Kimi-K2.6 |
| Version | phi-4 | Kimi-K2.6 |
| Lifecycle | active | active |
| Released | 2024-12-12 | 2026-04-20 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Unknown | Unknown |
| Input modalities | Text | Text, Image |
| Output modalities | Text | Text |
| Context window | 16K | 262K |
| Total parameters | 14.7B | 1T |
| Active parameters | Unknown | 32B |
| License | mit | 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 | chat, generation, reasoning, tools |
phi-4 Capabilities
Kimi K2.6 Capabilities
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phi-4Microsoft | vs |  Mistral Large 3Mistral AI | cross-developer peerstext |
Primary Evidence
Sources and Freshness
Questions
phi-4 vs Kimi K2.6 FAQs
Is phi-4 or Kimi K2.6 better for coding?+
This comparison does not currently contain a protocol-matched coding benchmark for both phi-4 and Kimi K2.6, so Model Markets cannot name a coding leader from pricing, context size, or capability labels alone.
Which is cheaper, phi-4 or Kimi K2.6?+
phi-4 is $0.070 and Kimi K2.6 is $0.75 per million tokens, so phi-4 is cheaper on this metric. phi-4 is $0.14 and Kimi K2.6 is $3.50 per million tokens, so phi-4 is cheaper on this metric.
Which has a larger context window, phi-4 or Kimi K2.6?+
Kimi K2.6 has the larger sourced context window. phi-4 supports 16K and Kimi K2.6 supports 262K.
Which performs better in benchmarks, phi-4 or Kimi K2.6?+
There is no overall benchmark winner: At least two independently verified, protocol-matched benchmarks are required for an overall winner.
Can phi-4 or Kimi K2.6 be self-hosted?+
Both models have the same recorded self-hosting status: supported. phi-4 is open weight; Kimi K2.6 is open weight.
Can phi-4 and Kimi K2.6 understand images?+
phi-4 is not 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, phi-4 or Kimi K2.6?+
Neither has a larger sourced maximum output. phi-4 is — and Kimi K2.6 is —.
Do phi-4 and Kimi K2.6 support reasoning and tool use?+
phi-4: none of these features are definitively sourced. Kimi K2.6: reasoning, tool calling, and image input. Feature support does not establish relative quality.
Which is available from more inference providers, phi-4 or Kimi K2.6?+
phi-4 has 3 sourced provider routes; Kimi K2.6 has 5, so Kimi K2.6 has broader tracked availability.
Which offers better value, phi-4 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.