API model · 6 comparisons
Kimi K3 compared
Kimi K3 costs $0.19 per million input tokens and $16.00 per million output tokens and reads up to 1,048,576 tokens in one request. Here it is compared with Claude Sonnet 5.5, GPT-6.1 Sol, GLM 5.3 Flash, Grok 4.7 and 2 other models. Pick a matchup for the full side-by-side, a monthly cost calculator and our verdict.
Prices checked 13 November 2026 from the OpenRouter API.
Kimi K3 at a glance
- Input / 1M tokens
- $0.19
- Output / 1M tokens
- $16.00
- Context window
- 1,048,576 tokens
- Longest reply
- 943,718 tokens
- Accepts
- image, text, video
- Providers on OpenRouter
- 18
- Best provider uptime, 24 h
- 100%
What Kimi K3 costs next to the alternatives
Every model it is compared with, on the same two workloads the matchup pages use. A short request is 2,000 tokens in and 500 out; a document summary is 20,000 in and 1,000 out.
| Model | Input / 1M | Output / 1M | 1,000 short requests | 100 document summaries | Context | Also takes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kimi K3 (this model) | $0.19 | $16.00 | $8.38 | $1.98 | 1,048,576 | images, video |
| GLM 5.3 Flash | $0.04 | $0.08 | $0.12 | $0.09 | 1,048,576 | images, video |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $0.83 | $4.13 | $3.71 | $2.06 | 1,048,576 | audio, files, images, video |
| Grok 4.7 | $2.00 | $6.00 | $7.00 | $4.60 | 500,000 | files, images |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | $2.00 | $10.00 | $9.00 | $5.00 | 1,000,000 | files, images |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | $2.00 | $10.00 | $9.00 | $5.00 | 1,050,000 | files, images |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $4.00 | $20.00 | $18.00 | $10.00 | 1,000,000 | files, images |
Base rates from OpenRouter (checked 13 November 2026). Cache discounts, media, tools and extra reasoning tokens are not included. Model names link to the full matchup.
- For 1,000 short requests, Kimi K3 costs $8.38. GLM 5.3 Flash is the cheapest here at $0.12, and Claude Opus 5.5 is the most expensive at $18.00.
- Kimi K3 cannot take files or audio as input. Alternatives that can: files (5 of the 6 alternatives) and audio (Gemini 3.8 Flash).
- Grok 4.7 (500,000 tokens) reads less in one request than Kimi K3, so the longest documents may not fit.
- Very long prompts cost more on some models: Grok 4.7 above 200,000 tokens; GPT-6.1 Sol above 272,000 tokens. Both workloads above stay below those lengths.
Compare Kimi K3 with
Kimi K3 vs Claude Sonnet 5.5
Kimi K3 adds an open-weight option to a comparison with Claude Sonnet 5.5. Both offer large-context hosted APIs, while Kimi also supports video input. The choice depends on what you send, how much the model writes back and whether you need control over deployment.
See the comparison vs GPT-6.1 SolKimi K3 vs GPT-6.1 Sol
Kimi K3 and GPT-6.1 Sol both give an application room for long documents and conversations. Kimi adds video input and access to model weights. Sol offers a hosted alternative with a different tool integration and pricing structure. The amount you send and the length of the answer matter more than the headline input rate.
See the comparison vs GLM 5.3 FlashGLM 5.3 Flash vs Kimi K3
GLM 5.3 Flash and Kimi K3 both accept text, images and video through the compared APIs. Both also have released weights, giving teams a choice between renting access and operating their own deployment. GLM’s lower token rates make the budget difference clear; deciding whether Kimi is worth more requires a closer look at your actual work.
See the comparison vs Grok 4.7Kimi K3 vs Grok 4.7
Kimi K3 and Grok 4.7 charge for very different parts of a request. Kimi has the lower input rate, while Grok has the lower output rate on ordinary prompts. A long reference document with a short answer can favour Kimi; a brief instruction that produces pages of text can favour Grok.
See the comparison vs Gemini 3.8 FlashKimi K3 vs Gemini 3.8 Flash
Kimi K3 costs less to read a large prompt; Gemini 3.8 Flash costs less to write the answer. The better value depends on what you send and how much the model writes back. Both can work with images and video, while Gemini also accepts audio. Kimi’s released weights offer a separate path for teams that need to operate their own deployment.
See the comparison vs Claude Opus 5.5Kimi K3 vs Claude Opus 5.5
Kimi K3 from Moonshot AI and Claude Opus 5.5 from Anthropic both read about a million tokens. One is open-weight and sold by about 20 providers; the other is closed, with one set price. Here's how they differ on cost, inputs and control.
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