Kimi: Models Intelligence, Performance & Price
Analysis of Kimi's models across key metrics including quality, price, output speed, latency, context window & more. This analysis is intended to support you in choosing the best model provided by Kimi for your use-case.
Most Intelligent
Intelligence index
Total 5 models
Fastest
Output speed
Total 5 models
Lowest Price
Blended price (per 1M tokens)
Total 5 models
Kimi offers 5 models, each with different intelligence, performance, and pricing characteristics. Below is a comparison of the key metrics across models.
- For intelligence, the top models on Kimi are Kimi K2.5 (47), Kimi K2 Thinking Turbo (41), Kimi K2 Thinking (41).
- For output speed, the fastest models are Kimi K2 Thinking Turbo (87 t/s), Kimi K2.5 (47 t/s), Kimi K2.5 (44 t/s). Speed varies significantly across models, with a 365% difference between the fastest and slowest.
- For latency, Kimi K2.5 (2.67s), Kimi K2.5 (2.92s), Kimi K2 Thinking Turbo (2.97s) offer the lowest time to first token.
- For pricing, Kimi K2 Thinking ($1.07), Kimi K2 ($1.07), Kimi K2.5 ($1.20) offer the lowest blended prices per 1M tokens. Prices vary up to 2.7x across models.
- For context window size, Kimi K2 Thinking Turbo (262k), Kimi K2 Thinking (262k), Kimi K2.5 (256k) support the largest context windows on Kimi.
Intelligence Evaluations
Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index
Intelligence Evaluations
Intelligence vs. Price
Context Window
Context Window
JSON Mode & Function Calling
Function (Tool) Calling & JSON Mode
Pricing
Intelligence vs. Price
Performance Summary
Output Speed vs. Price
Speed
Measured by Output Speed (tokens per second)
Output Speed
Latency
Measured by Time (seconds) to First Token
Time to First Answer Token
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 vs. Price
Key definitions
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Kimi
Kimi offers 5 models that we track: Kimi K2.5, Kimi K2 Thinking, Kimi K2 Thinking, Kimi K2.5, and Kimi K2.
The most intelligent model available on Kimi is Kimi K2.5 with an Intelligence Index score of 47.
The fastest model on Kimi by output speed is Kimi K2 Thinking at 86.6 tokens per second.
The model with the lowest time to first token on Kimi is Kimi K2.5 at 2.67s. Lower latency means faster initial response time.
The most affordable model on Kimi by blended price is Kimi K2 Thinking at $1.07 per 1M tokens (3:1 input to output ratio).
Prices on Kimi vary up to 3x across models, from $1.07 per 1M tokens for Kimi K2 Thinking to $2.86 per 1M tokens for Kimi K2 Thinking.
Yes, Kimi offers an OpenAI-compatible API, making it easy to switch from OpenAI or use existing OpenAI SDK integrations.
Yes, all 5 models on Kimi support JSON mode for structured output.
Yes, all 5 models on Kimi support function calling (tool use).
Yes, Kimi offers 3 reasoning models: Kimi K2.5, Kimi K2 Thinking, and Kimi K2 Thinking. Reasoning models use extended thinking to work through complex problems before providing an answer.
Yes, all 5 models on Kimi are open weight models.
Yes, provider performance can vary over time due to infrastructure changes, load balancing, and updates. We continuously benchmark all providers and display historical performance trends in the "Over Time" charts.
When choosing a model on Kimi, consider: intelligence (for quality-sensitive tasks), output speed (for throughput-intensive tasks), latency (for interactive applications requiring quick first responses), pricing (for cost-sensitive workloads), and features like context window size, JSON mode, or function calling support.
Kimi K2.5, Kimi