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Grok Code Fast 1 vs Kimi K2.6

Grok Code Fast 1 (2025) and Kimi K2.6 (2026) are agentic coding models from xAI and Moonshot AI. Grok Code Fast 1 ships a 262K-token context window, while Kimi K2.6 ships a 262K-token context window. On SWE-bench Verified, Kimi K2.6 leads by 9.4 pts. This comparison covers specs, pricing, capabilities, benchmarks, provider availability, and production fit. It focuses on practical selection signals rather than broad model-family marketing.

Kimi K2.6 is safer overall; choose Grok Code Fast 1 when coding workflow support matters.

Specs

Released2025-08-272026-04-13
Context window262K262K
Parameters314B1T (MoE, 32B active)
Architecturemixture of expertsMixture of Experts (MoE)
LicenseProprietaryProprietary
Knowledge cutoff--

Pricing and availability

Grok Code Fast 1Kimi K2.6
Input price$0.2/1M tokens-
Output price$1.5/1M tokens-
Providers

Capabilities

Grok Code Fast 1Kimi K2.6
Vision
Multimodal
Reasoning
Function calling
Tool use
Structured outputs
Code execution

Benchmarks

BenchmarkGrok Code Fast 1Kimi K2.6
SWE-bench Verified70.880.2

Deep dive

On shared benchmark coverage, SWE-bench Verified has Grok Code Fast 1 at 70.8 and Kimi K2.6 at 80.2, with Kimi K2.6 ahead by 9.4 points. The largest visible gap is 9.4 points on SWE-bench Verified, which matters most when that benchmark mirrors your workload. Treat isolated benchmark wins as directional, because provider routing, prompt style, and tool access can move real application results.

The capability footprint differs most on vision: Kimi K2.6, multimodal input: Kimi K2.6, reasoning mode: Kimi K2.6, tool use: Grok Code Fast 1, and structured outputs: Grok Code Fast 1. Both models share function calling, so the practical split is not just feature count. Use those differences to decide whether the page is about raw model quality, agentic coding support, multimodal ingestion, or predictable structured API behavior.

Pricing coverage is uneven: Grok Code Fast 1 has $0.2/1M input tokens and Kimi K2.6 has no token price sourced yet. Provider availability is 1 tracked routes versus 2. Treat unknown pricing as an integration gap, then verify the route you will actually call before estimating production spend.

Choose Grok Code Fast 1 when coding workflow support are central to the workload. Choose Kimi K2.6 when coding workflow support and broader provider choice are more important. For production, rerun your own prompts through the exact provider, region, and tool stack you plan to ship.

FAQ

Which has a larger context window, Grok Code Fast 1 or Kimi K2.6?

Grok Code Fast 1 supports 262K tokens, while Kimi K2.6 supports 262K tokens. That gap matters most for long documents, large codebases, retrieval-heavy agents, and conversations where earlier context must remain visible.

Is Grok Code Fast 1 or Kimi K2.6 open source?

Grok Code Fast 1 is listed under Proprietary. Kimi K2.6 is listed under Proprietary. License labels affect whether you can self-host, redistribute weights, or rely only on hosted APIs, so confirm the upstream license before deployment.

Which is better for vision, Grok Code Fast 1 or Kimi K2.6?

Kimi K2.6 has the clearer documented vision signal in this comparison. If vision is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ. Use this as a quick comparison signal, then confirm the provider-specific limits before committing to production.

Which is better for multimodal input, Grok Code Fast 1 or Kimi K2.6?

Kimi K2.6 has the clearer documented multimodal input signal in this comparison. If multimodal input is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.

Which is better for reasoning mode, Grok Code Fast 1 or Kimi K2.6?

Kimi K2.6 has the clearer documented reasoning mode signal in this comparison. If reasoning mode is mission-critical, validate it against the provider endpoint because model-level support and API-level exposure can differ.

Where can I run Grok Code Fast 1 and Kimi K2.6?

Grok Code Fast 1 is available on OpenRouter. Kimi K2.6 is available on NVIDIA NIM and Moonshot AI Kimi. Provider coverage can affect latency, region availability, compliance posture, and fallback options.

Continue comparing

Last reviewed: 2026-04-27. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.