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Head-to-head comparison

Kimi K2 Thinking vs Qwen3.8 Max

Kimi K2 Thinking (Moonshot AI) and Qwen3.8 Max (Qwen) 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, Qwen3.8 Max holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#6 vs #32); Kimi K2 Thinking is 2.4× cheaper per output token ($2.50/1M vs $6.00/1M); and Qwen3.8 Max offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens).

Which should you choose?

Choose Kimi K2 Thinking if…

  • API cost matters — $2.50/1M output tokens against $6.00/1M, about 2.4× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.60/1M against $2.00/1M.
  • you want provider choice — 2 listed API providers against 1.

Choose Qwen3.8 Max if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #6 against #32 (80.4 vs 58.5 points).
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1529 against 1486.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 58.1 against 33.5.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.8 Max was listed 3 August 2026, Kimi K2 Thinking 6 November 2025.

Kimi K2 Thinking vs Qwen3.8 Max: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Kimi K2 Thinking and Qwen3.8 Max
FieldKimi K2 ThinkingMoonshot AIQwen3.8 MaxQwen
ModelCap Index position#32#6
Index score58.580.4
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.60$2.00
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$6.00
Context window262K tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens100K131K
API providers listed21
Weight accessRestricted licenseAPI only
Input modalitiesTextText, Image, Video
First listed6 November 20253 August 2026
PublisherMoonshot AIQwen

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 5 public benchmark observations across 5 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Kimi K2 Thinking vs Qwen3.8 Max

Public benchmark boards where Kimi K2 Thinking or Qwen3.8 Max has a published result
BoardKimi K2 ThinkingQwen3.8 MaxLeads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14861481–1492Turbo15291516–1542Qwen3.8 Max
LMArena AgentLMArena—7.6%6.0%–9.2%Only one result
SWE-benchSWE-bench (Princeton / SWE-agent team)63.4%Thinking—Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis33.5intelligence-index58.1intelligence-indexQwen3.8 Max
WildClawBench OpenClawWildClawBench—56.2Only 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 Qwen3.8 Max: common questions

Is Kimi K2 Thinking better than Qwen3.8 Max?

Qwen3.8 Max ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #6 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 Qwen3.8 Max?

Kimi K2 Thinking is cheaper on output tokens: $2.50/1M against $6.00/1M. Input tokens are $0.60/1M for Kimi K2 Thinking and $2.00/1M for Qwen3.8 Max. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Kimi K2 Thinking or Qwen3.8 Max?

Qwen3.8 Max has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Kimi K2 Thinking or Qwen3.8 Max?

Arena coding: Kimi K2 Thinking 1486, Qwen3.8 Max 1529 — Qwen3.8 Max leads.

Are Kimi K2 Thinking and Qwen3.8 Max open-weight models?

Kimi K2 Thinking: Restricted license. Qwen3.8 Max: 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 Qwen3.8 Max?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Kimi K2 Thinking and 1 for Qwen3.8 Max, 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 Qwen3.8 Max 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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