Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning) vs Kimi K3 (Max)
Which is better for the money: Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning) by Kimi or Kimi K3 (Max) by Kimi? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-24.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
Kimi K3 (Max) scores 16.6 points higher (43.6 vs 27.0) but costs 2.4× as much to run the benchmark ($3658 vs $1528; flagship vs premium cost classes). Pick Kimi K3 (Max) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning).
| Metric | Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning) | Kimi K3 (Max) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 27.0 | 43.6 | +61.5% Kimi K3 (Max) is 61.5% more intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $1,528.20 | $3,658.07 | +139.4% Kimi K3 (Max) is 2.4× more expensive |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 65.20s | 63.08s | −3.3% Kimi K3 (Max) is 3.3% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $0.95 / $4.00 | $3.00 / $15.0 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image, Video | Text, Image |
Kimi K3 (Max) vs Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning): 61.5% more intelligence, 139.4% more cost to run the AA benchmark, and 3.3% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Max) scores 51.80 for $1082.
- Kimi K3 (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Kimi K3.1 Pro scores 55.10 for $3117.
Kimi K2.6 (Reasoning)Kimi K3 (Max)Today's Pareto frontierOpen-weights frontierEvery other model
Matchup
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Accept: text/markdown or ?format=md returns this page as Markdown. JSON: /api/v1/compare/kimi-k2-6/kimi-k3 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/kimi-k2-6/kimi-k3?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill