Kimi K3 (Max) vs Ling 3.1 Flash
Which is better for the money: Kimi K3 (Max) by Kimi or Ling 3.1 Flash by InclusionAI? Intelligence, total benchmark cost, and end-to-end time from Artificial Analysis & other sources, snapshot 2026-10-25.
Trade-off
Verdict
Depends on your budget
Kimi K3 (Max) scores 2.5 points higher (43.6 vs 41.1) but costs 3.6× as much to run the benchmark ($3658 vs $1015; flagship vs premium cost classes). They are not alternatives at one budget: pick Kimi K3 (Max) when you need intelligence above 41.1, and Ling 3.1 Flash when 41.1 is enough.
| Metric | Kimi K3 (Max) | Ling 3.1 Flash | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 43.6 | 41.1 | −5.7% Ling 3.1 Flash is 5.7% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $3,658.07 | $1,014.56 | −72.3% Ling 3.1 Flash is 72.3% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 58.57s | 13.64s | −76.7% Ling 3.1 Flash is 76.7% faster |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $3.00 / $15.0 | $0.30 / $0.90 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text |
Ling 3.1 Flash vs Kimi K3 (Max): 5.7% less intelligence, 72.3% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 76.7% faster end-to-end.
Today's Pareto frontier
Against the frontier
- Kimi K3 (Max) is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Kimi K3.1 Pro scores 55.10 for $3117.
- Ling 3.1 Flash is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, GPT-6.1 Sol (Xhigh) scores 51.00 for $662.
Kimi K3 (Max)Ling 3.1 FlashToday'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-k3/ling-3-1-flash · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/kimi-k3/ling-3-1-flash?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill