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Head-to-head comparison

Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-5.4 Mini

Kimi K2 Thinking (Moonshot AI) and GPT-5.4 Mini (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-5.4 Mini holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#23 vs #32); Kimi K2 Thinking is 1.8× cheaper per output token ($2.50/1M vs $4.50/1M); and GPT-5.4 Mini offers the longer context window (400K vs 262K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Kimi K2 Thinking if…

  • API cost matters — $2.50/1M output tokens against $4.50/1M, about 1.8× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.60/1M against $0.75/1M.

Choose GPT-5.4 Mini if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #23 against #32 (64.8 vs 58.5 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 400K tokens against 262K.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1497 against 1486.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 40.9 against 33.5.
  • you want the more recently listed model — GPT-5.4 Mini was listed 17 March 2026, Kimi K2 Thinking 6 November 2025.

Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-5.4 Mini: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Kimi K2 Thinking and GPT-5.4 Mini
FieldKimi K2 ThinkingMoonshot AIGPT-5.4 MiniOpenAI
ModelCap Index position#32#23
Index score58.564.8
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.60$0.75
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$4.50
Context window262K tokens400K tokens
Max output tokens100K128K
API providers listed22
Weight accessRestricted licenseAPI only
Input modalitiesTextFile, Image, Text
First listed6 November 202517 March 2026
PublisherMoonshot AIOpenAI

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 4 public benchmark observations across 4 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-5.4 Mini

Public benchmark boards where Kimi K2 Thinking or GPT-5.4 Mini has a published result
BoardKimi K2 ThinkingGPT-5.4 MiniLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14861481–1492Turbo14971491–1503HighGPT-5.4 Mini
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—18.9%X-HighOnly one result
SWE-benchSWE-bench (Princeton / SWE-agent team)63.4%Thinking—Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis33.5intelligence-index40.9intelligence-indexGPT-5.4 Mini

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-5.4 Mini: common questions

Is Kimi K2 Thinking better than GPT-5.4 Mini?

GPT-5.4 Mini ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #23 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-5.4 Mini?

Kimi K2 Thinking is cheaper on output tokens: $2.50/1M against $4.50/1M. Input tokens are $0.60/1M for Kimi K2 Thinking and $0.75/1M for GPT-5.4 Mini. 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-5.4 Mini?

GPT-5.4 Mini has the larger context window: 400K tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Kimi K2 Thinking or GPT-5.4 Mini?

Arena coding: Kimi K2 Thinking 1486, GPT-5.4 Mini 1497 — GPT-5.4 Mini leads.

Are Kimi K2 Thinking and GPT-5.4 Mini open-weight models?

Kimi K2 Thinking: Restricted license. GPT-5.4 Mini: 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-5.4 Mini?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Kimi K2 Thinking and 2 for GPT-5.4 Mini, 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-5.4 Mini 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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