Kimi K3 (Max) vs Qwen3.8 Max
Which is better for the money: Kimi K3 (Max) by Kimi or Qwen3.8 Max by Alibaba? 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 3.4 points higher (43.6 vs 40.2) but costs 1.2× as much to run the benchmark ($3658 vs $3172; both flagship class). Pick Kimi K3 (Max) when the extra intelligence is worth the premium, otherwise Qwen3.8 Max.
| Metric | Kimi K3 (Max) | Qwen3.8 Max | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intelligence (higher is better) | 43.6 | 40.2 | −7.8% Qwen3.8 Max is 7.8% less intelligent |
| Total AA cost (lower is better) | $3,658.07 | $3,172.37 | −13.3% Qwen3.8 Max is 13.3% cheaper |
| End-to-end time (lower is better) | 56.93s | 64.64s | +13.5% Qwen3.8 Max is 13.5% slower |
| Price per 1M tokens (in / out) | $3.00 / $15.0 | $2.00 / $6.00 | |
| Input modalities | Text, Image | Text, Image, Video |
Qwen3.8 Max vs Kimi K3 (Max): 7.8% less intelligence, 13.3% less cost to run the AA benchmark, and 13.5% slower 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.
- Qwen3.8 Max is off the frontier: at the same or lower cost, Kimi K3.1 Pro scores 55.10 for $3117.
Kimi K3 (Max)Qwen3.8 MaxToday'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/qwen3-8-max-0803 · Markdown: /api/v1/compare/kimi-k3/qwen3-8-max-0803?format=md · llms.txt · agent skill