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Head-to-head comparison

Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-5.2 Chat

Kimi K2 Thinking (Moonshot AI) and GPT-5.2 Chat (OpenAI) 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, GPT-5.2 Chat holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#9 vs #32); Kimi K2 Thinking is 5.6× cheaper per output token ($2.50/1M vs $14.00/1M); and Kimi K2 Thinking offers the longer context window (262K vs 128K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Kimi K2 Thinking if…

  • API cost matters — $2.50/1M output tokens against $14.00/1M, about 5.6× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.60/1M against $1.75/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 128K.
  • you want provider choice — 2 listed API providers against 1.

Choose GPT-5.2 Chat if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #9 against #32 (74.9 vs 58.5 points).
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1515 against 1486.
  • you want the more recently listed model — GPT-5.2 Chat was listed 10 December 2025, Kimi K2 Thinking 6 November 2025.

Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-5.2 Chat: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Kimi K2 Thinking and GPT-5.2 Chat
FieldKimi K2 ThinkingMoonshot AIGPT-5.2 ChatOpenAI
ModelCap Index position#32#9
Index score58.574.9
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.60$1.75
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$14.00
Context window262K tokens128K tokens
Max output tokens100K32K
API providers listed21
Weight accessRestricted licenseAPI only
Input modalitiesTextFile, Image, Text
First listed6 November 202510 December 2025
PublisherMoonshot AIOpenAI

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 2 public benchmark observations across 2 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-5.2 Chat

Public benchmark boards where Kimi K2 Thinking or GPT-5.2 Chat has a published result
BoardKimi K2 ThinkingGPT-5.2 ChatLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14861481–1492Turbo15151508–1522GPT-5.2 Chat
SWE-benchSWE-bench (Princeton / SWE-agent team)63.4%Thinking—Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis33.5intelligence-index—Only one result

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.

Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-5.2 Chat: common questions

Is Kimi K2 Thinking better than GPT-5.2 Chat?

GPT-5.2 Chat ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #9 against #32. 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 Kimi K2 Thinking cheaper than GPT-5.2 Chat?

Kimi K2 Thinking is cheaper on output tokens: $2.50/1M against $14.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.60/1M for Kimi K2 Thinking and $1.75/1M for GPT-5.2 Chat. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Kimi K2 Thinking or GPT-5.2 Chat?

Kimi K2 Thinking has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 128K.

Which is better for coding, Kimi K2 Thinking or GPT-5.2 Chat?

Arena coding: Kimi K2 Thinking 1486, GPT-5.2 Chat 1515 — GPT-5.2 Chat leads.

Are Kimi K2 Thinking and GPT-5.2 Chat open-weight models?

Kimi K2 Thinking: Restricted license. GPT-5.2 Chat: API only. 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 Kimi K2 Thinking and GPT-5.2 Chat?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Kimi K2 Thinking and 1 for GPT-5.2 Chat, from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-5.2 Chat 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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