LLM Reference

Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2.6

Kimi K2.5 (2026) and Kimi K2.6 (2026) are agentic coding models from Moonshot AI. Kimi K2.5 ships a 256k-token context window, while Kimi K2.6 ships a 262k-token context window. On MMLU PRO, Kimi K2.5 leads by 2.5 pts. On pricing, Kimi K2.5 costs $0.44/1M input tokens versus $0.73/1M for the alternative. This comparison covers specs, pricing, API access, capabilities, benchmarks, input and output token costs, and production fit for coding and agent workloads.

Kimi K2.5 is ~66% cheaper at $0.44/1M; pay for Kimi K2.6 only for coding workflow support.

Decision scorecard

Local evidence first
SignalKimi K2.5Kimi K2.6
Best forcustom coding agents, code generation, and tool loopscustom coding agents, code generation, and tool loops
Decision fitCoding, RAG, and AgentsCoding, RAG, and Agents
Context window256k262k
Cheapest output$2/1M tokens$3.49/1M tokens
Provider routes10 tracked9 tracked
Shared benchmarksMMLU PRO leader10 shared

Decision tradeoffs

Choose Kimi K2.5 when...
  • Kimi K2.5 holds a shared-benchmark lead on MMLU PRO, ahead by 2.5 points.
  • Kimi K2.5 has the lower cheapest tracked output price at $2/1M tokens.
  • Kimi K2.5 has broader tracked provider coverage for fallback and route flexibility.
  • Local decision data tags Kimi K2.5 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.
Choose Kimi K2.6 when...
  • Kimi K2.6 holds a shared-benchmark lead on SWE-bench Verified, ahead by 3.4 points.
  • Kimi K2.6 has the larger context window for long prompts, retrieval packs, or transcript analysis.
  • Kimi K2.6 uniquely exposes Reasoning in local model data.
  • Local decision data tags Kimi K2.6 for Coding, RAG, and Agents.

Monthly cost at traffic

Estimate token spend from the cheapest tracked input and output route or tier on this page.

Lower estimate Kimi K2.5

Kimi K2.5

$852

Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter

Kimi K2.6

$1,457

Cheapest tracked route/tier: OpenRouter

Estimated monthly gap: $605. Batch, cache, alternate speed tiers, and negotiated pricing are excluded from this local estimate.

Switch friction

Kimi K2.5 -> Kimi K2.6
  • Provider overlap exists on Cloudflare Workers AI, NVIDIA NIM, and Fireworks AI; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Kimi K2.6 is $1.49/1M tokens higher on cheapest tracked output pricing, so quality gains need to justify the spend.
  • Kimi K2.6 adds Reasoning in local capability data.
Kimi K2.6 -> Kimi K2.5
  • Provider overlap exists on Cloudflare Workers AI, Fireworks AI, and OpenRouter; start route-level A/B tests there.
  • Kimi K2.5 is $1.49/1M tokens lower on cheapest tracked output pricing before cache, batch, or negotiated discounts.
  • Check replacement coverage for Reasoning before moving production traffic.

Specs

Specification
Released2026-03-152026-04-20
Context window256k262k
Parameters1T (MoE, 384 experts)1T
ArchitectureMixture of ExpertsMixture of Experts
LicenseProprietaryMITOSI-approved
OpennessProprietaryOpen source
WeightsNot releasedAvailable·Moonshot Modified MIT License
CodeUnknownAvailable·Moonshot Modified MIT License
Commercial useCommercial use: conditionalCommercial use: permitted
Knowledge cutoff-2025-04

Pricing and availability

Pricing attributeKimi K2.5Kimi K2.6
Input price$0.44/1M tokens$0.73/1M tokens
Output price$2/1M tokens$3.49/1M tokens
Providers
Cloudflare Workers AIFireworks AIOpenRouterTogether AINVIDIA NIMAWS Bedrock
Cloudflare Workers AINVIDIA NIMMoonshot AI KimiFireworks AIOpenRouterMicrosoft Foundry

Capabilities

CapabilityKimi K2.5Kimi K2.6
VisionYesYes
MultimodalYesYes
ReasoningNoYes
JSON / Tool useYesYes
Structured outputsYesYes
Code executionNoNo
IDE integrationNoNo
Computer useNoNo
Parallel agentsNoNo

Benchmarks

BenchmarkKimi K2.5Kimi K2.6
MMLU PRO87.184.6
SWE-bench Verified76.880.2
Google-Proof Q&A87.990.5
LiveCodeBench85.089.6
Humanity's Last Exam50.234.7
MCP-Atlas29.555.9
BrowseComp60.683.2
Terminal-Bench 2.050.866.7
CursorBench31.947.6
MMMU Pro78.580.1

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Model pages
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Last reviewed: 2026-06-30. Data sourced from public model cards and provider documentation.