This model is deprecated. We only continue performance benchmarking for the default 10k input token workload. Results for other workloads are historical and no longer updated.

Kimi has launched a newer release, Kimi K3. We suggest considering it instead.

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Kimi K2.6
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Open weights model

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Released April 2026

Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning) API Provider Benchmarking & Analysis

Model Comparison

This analysis is intended to support you in choosing the best API provider of Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning) for your use-case.

Fastest

#1
NebiusNebius
250.1 t/s
#2
AzureAzure
236.4 t/s
#3
CoreWeaveCoreWeave
163.6 t/s
#4
ParasailParasail
104.3 t/s
#5
NovitaNovita
65.9 t/s

Output speed

Total 11 providers

Lowest Latency

#1
NebiusNebius
19.34 s
#2
AzureAzure
20.27 s
#3
CoreWeaveCoreWeave
28.28 s
#4
ParasailParasail
44.36 s
#5
KimiKimi
71.23 s

Time to first answer token

Total 11 providers

Lowest Price

#1
CoreWeaveCoreWeave
$0.58
#2
SiliconFlow (FP8)SiliconFlow (FP8)
$0.59
#3
DeepInfra (FP4)DeepInfra (FP4)
$0.60
#4
NovitaNovita
$0.61
#5
ParasailParasail
$0.61

Blended price (per 1M tokens)

Total 11 providers

Kimi K2.6 is available through 11 API providers, each offering different performance characteristics and pricing. Below is a comparison of the key metrics across providers.

  • For output speed, the top providers are Nebius (250.1 t/s), Azure (236.4 t/s), and CoreWeave (163.6 t/s). Speed varies significantly across providers, with a 808% difference between the fastest and slowest.
  • For latency, Nebius (19.34s), Azure (20.27s), and CoreWeave (28.28s) offer the lowest time to first answer token.
  • For pricing, CoreWeave (0.58), SiliconFlow (FP8) (0.59), and DeepInfra (FP4) (0.60) offer the lowest blended prices per 1M tokens. Prices vary up to 2.2x across providers.
  • Nebius offers the best performance with both the highest speed and lowest latency. For cost optimization, CoreWeave provides the most competitive pricing.
Output tokens per second · Higher is better
Seconds to first answer token received · Lower is better
USD per 1M tokens (blended) · Lower is better

Pricing

Pricing: Cache Hit, Input, and Output

Price (USD per M Tokens) · Lower is better · 10,000 input tokens

Cost per Intelligence Index Task

Weighted average cost (USD) per Intelligence Index task · Segmented by token type · Lower is better

Output Speed vs. Price

Blended at 7:2:1 (cache-input-output) · Output speed: output tokens per second · USD per 1M tokens (blended)
Most attractive quadrant
Pareto line

Speed

Measured by Output Speed (tokens per second)

Output Speed: Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning)

Output speed: output tokens per second · 10,000 input tokens

Time per Intelligence Index Task

Weighted average decode time (minutes) per Intelligence Index task · Excludes TTFT and overhead time · Lower is better

Cost per Task vs. Time per Task

Weighted average cost (USD) per Intelligence Index task · Weighted average decode time (minutes) per Intelligence Index task
Most attractive quadrant
Pareto line

Latency

Measured by Time (seconds) to First Token

Time to First Answer Token

Seconds to first token received · Lower is better · 10,000 input tokens

Cache Behaviour

Cache Hit Rate

Share of cacheable input tokens served from cache · Median of the last four weeks, updated Sep 26, 2026

Cost per Task vs. Cache Hit Rate

Weighted average cost (USD) per Intelligence Index task · Cache hit rate: median of the last four weeks, updated Sep 26, 2026
Most attractive quadrant

End-to-End Response Time

Seconds to output 500 tokens, calculated based on time to first token, 'thinking' time for reasoning models, and output speed

End-to-End Response Time

Seconds to output 500 tokens, including reasoning model 'thinking' time · Lower is better · 10,000 input tokens

Key Comparison Metrics & API Features

Baseten logoBaseten
262k
Open
$0.74
--
--
--
--
CoreWeave logoCoreWeave
262k
Open
$1.11
178
1.04
28.87
25.02
Novita logoNovita
262k
Open
$0.67
74
3.88
70.39
59.80
GMI logoGMI
262k
Open
--
--
--
--
--
Fireworks logoFireworks
262k
Open
$0.52
--
--
--
--
SiliconFlow logoSiliconFlow
262k
Open
$0.61
28
1.62
176.35
157.09
DeepInfra logoDeepInfra
262k
Open
$0.51
105
0.67
47.73
42.31
Parasail logoParasail
262k
Open
$0.68
114
1.66
45.18
39.12
Nebius logoNebius
262k
Open
$1.91
245
1.57
21.79
18.18
Microsoft Azure logoMicrosoft Azure
262k
Open
$1.91
238
1.43
22.27
18.74
Kimi logoKimi
256k
Open
$0.80
77
2.71
66.73
57.56

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning) providers