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Head-to-head comparison

Kimi K2 Thinking vs o3

Kimi K2 Thinking (Moonshot AI) and o3 (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, Kimi K2 Thinking holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#32 vs #37); Kimi K2 Thinking is 3.2× cheaper per output token ($2.50/1M vs $8.00/1M); and Kimi K2 Thinking offers the longer context window (262K vs 200K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Kimi K2 Thinking if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #32 against #37 (58.5 vs 55.1 points).
  • API cost matters — $2.50/1M output tokens against $8.00/1M, about 3.2× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.60/1M against $2.00/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 262K tokens against 200K.
  • you want provider choice — 2 listed API providers against 1.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1486 against 1460.
  • SWE-bench is your yardstick — 63.4% against 58.4%.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 33.5 against 31.1.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Kimi K2 Thinking was listed 6 November 2025, o3 16 April 2025.

Choose o3 if…

  • ModelCap publishes no field on which o3 leads Kimi K2 Thinking for this pair.

Kimi K2 Thinking vs o3: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Kimi K2 Thinking and o3
FieldKimi K2 ThinkingMoonshot AIo3OpenAI
ModelCap Index position#32#37
Index score58.555.1
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.60$2.00
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$8.00
Context window262K tokens200K tokens
Max output tokens100K100K
API providers listed21
Weight accessRestricted licenseAPI only
Input modalitiesTextImage, Text, File
First listed6 November 202516 April 2025
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 o3

Public benchmark boards where Kimi K2 Thinking or o3 has a published result
BoardKimi K2 Thinkingo3Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14861481–1492Turbo14601453–1466Kimi K2 Thinking
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—6.5%HighOnly one result
SWE-benchSWE-bench (Princeton / SWE-agent team)63.4%Thinking58.4%Kimi K2 Thinking
BFCL V4UC Berkeley (Gorilla)—63.1PromptOnly one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis33.5intelligence-index31.1intelligence-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.

Kimi K2 Thinking vs o3: common questions

Is Kimi K2 Thinking better than o3?

Kimi K2 Thinking ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #32 against #37. 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 o3?

Kimi K2 Thinking is cheaper on output tokens: $2.50/1M against $8.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.60/1M for Kimi K2 Thinking and $2.00/1M for o3. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Kimi K2 Thinking or o3?

Kimi K2 Thinking has the larger context window: 262K tokens against 200K.

Which is better for coding, Kimi K2 Thinking or o3?

Arena coding: Kimi K2 Thinking 1486, o3 1460 — Kimi K2 Thinking leads. SWE-bench: Kimi K2 Thinking 63.4%, o3 58.4% — Kimi K2 Thinking leads.

Are Kimi K2 Thinking and o3 open-weight models?

Kimi K2 Thinking: Restricted license. o3: 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 o3?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Kimi K2 Thinking and 1 for o3, 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 o3 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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