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Head-to-head comparison

Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Kimi K2 Thinking

Gemma 4 26B A4B (Google) and Kimi K2 Thinking (Moonshot AI) compared on the ModelCap Index, API price, context window, provider availability, weight access and every public benchmark board they share. Figures are the same ones shown on the live rankings; nothing here is a hidden score.

Snapshot as of 18 August 2026

As of 18 August 2026, Kimi K2 Thinking holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#32 vs #35); Gemma 4 26B A4B is 7.4× cheaper per output token ($0.34/1M vs $2.50/1M); and Gemma 4 26B A4B ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Gemma 4 26B A4B if…

  • API cost matters — $0.34/1M output tokens against $2.50/1M, about 7.4× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.07/1M against $0.60/1M.
  • you want to self-host: Gemma 4 26B A4B ships open weights while Kimi K2 Thinking is restricted license.
  • you want provider choice — 8 listed API providers against 2.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Gemma 4 26B A4B was listed 3 April 2026, Kimi K2 Thinking 6 November 2025.

Choose Kimi K2 Thinking if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #32 against #35 (58.5 vs 56.4 points).
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1486 against 1481.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 33.5 against 26.1.

Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Kimi K2 Thinking: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Gemma 4 26B A4B and Kimi K2 Thinking
FieldGemma 4 26B A4BGoogleKimi K2 ThinkingMoonshot AI
ModelCap Index position#35#32
Index score56.458.5
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.07$0.60
Output price / 1M tokens$0.34$2.50
Context window262K tokens262K tokens
Max output tokens16K100K
API providers listed82
Weight accessOpen weightsRestricted license
Input modalitiesImage, Text, VideoText
First listed3 April 20266 November 2025
PublisherGoogleMoonshot AI

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Kimi K2 Thinking

Public benchmark boards where Gemma 4 26B A4B or Kimi K2 Thinking has a published result
BoardGemma 4 26B A4BKimi K2 ThinkingLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14811465–149614861481–1492TurboKimi K2 Thinking
SWE-benchSWE-bench (Princeton / SWE-agent team)—63.4%ThinkingOnly one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis26.1intelligence-index33.5intelligence-indexKimi K2 Thinking

Scores are the sources' own published figures for each model's best evaluated configuration; ModelCap never re-runs a benchmark.

Want a different pairing? Open the interactive comparison tool to swap either model for any current ranked language model.

Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Kimi K2 Thinking: common questions

Is Gemma 4 26B A4B better than Kimi K2 Thinking?

Kimi K2 Thinking ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #32 against #35. That is a capability ranking built from public benchmark evidence with published uncertainty; whether it is "better" for you also depends on price, context and where you can run it.

Is Gemma 4 26B A4B cheaper than Kimi K2 Thinking?

Gemma 4 26B A4B is cheaper on output tokens: $0.34/1M against $2.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.07/1M for Gemma 4 26B A4B and $0.60/1M for Kimi K2 Thinking. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Kimi K2 Thinking?

Both publish a 262K-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Gemma 4 26B A4B or Kimi K2 Thinking?

Arena coding: Gemma 4 26B A4B 1481, Kimi K2 Thinking 1486 — Kimi K2 Thinking leads.

Are Gemma 4 26B A4B and Kimi K2 Thinking open-weight models?

Gemma 4 26B A4B: Open weights. Kimi K2 Thinking: Restricted license. Open weights mean the checkpoint can be downloaded and self-hosted under its licence; API-only models are available solely through hosted endpoints.

Where can I run Gemma 4 26B A4B and Kimi K2 Thinking?

ModelCap currently lists 8 API providers for Gemma 4 26B A4B and 2 for Kimi K2 Thinking, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Gemma 4 26B A4B vs Kimi K2 Thinking comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 18 August 2026; the page re-renders within a minute of each data refresh, and the ModelCap Index positions are the same ones shown on the live rankings.

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