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Head-to-head comparison

Kimi K2 Thinking vs GLM 5.2

Kimi K2 Thinking (Moonshot AI) and GLM 5.2 (Z.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, GLM 5.2 holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#11 vs #32); Kimi K2 Thinking is 1.3× cheaper per output token ($2.50/1M vs $3.15/1M); GLM 5.2 offers the longer context window (1M vs 262K tokens); and GLM 5.2 ships open weights.

Which should you choose?

Choose Kimi K2 Thinking if…

  • API cost matters — $2.50/1M output tokens against $3.15/1M, about 1.3× cheaper.

Choose GLM 5.2 if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #11 against #32 (73.6 vs 58.5 points).
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $0.50/1M against $0.60/1M.
  • you need the longer context window — 1M tokens against 262K.
  • you want to self-host: GLM 5.2 ships open weights while Kimi K2 Thinking is restricted license.
  • you want provider choice — 27 listed API providers against 2.
  • Arena coding is your yardstick — 1506 against 1486.
  • Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 52.6 against 33.5.
  • you want the more recently listed model — GLM 5.2 was listed 16 June 2026, Kimi K2 Thinking 6 November 2025.

Kimi K2 Thinking vs GLM 5.2: specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Kimi K2 Thinking and GLM 5.2
FieldKimi K2 ThinkingMoonshot AIGLM 5.2Z.ai
ModelCap Index position#32#11
Index score58.573.6
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$0.60$0.50
Output price / 1M tokens$2.50$3.15
Context window262K tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens100K131K
API providers listed227
Weight accessRestricted licenseOpen weights
Input modalitiesTextText
First listed6 November 202516 June 2026
PublisherMoonshot AIZ.ai

Evidence: 3 public benchmark observations across 3 boards · 6 public benchmark observations across 6 boards. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Kimi K2 Thinking vs GLM 5.2

Public benchmark boards where Kimi K2 Thinking or GLM 5.2 has a published result
BoardKimi K2 ThinkingGLM 5.2Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)14861481–1492Turbo15061498–1514MaxGLM 5.2
LMArena AgentLMArena—6.7%5.8%–7.6%MaxOnly one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation—22.8%Only one result
SWE-benchSWE-bench (Princeton / SWE-agent team)63.4%Thinking—Only one result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis33.5intelligence-index52.6intelligence-indexGLM 5.2
WildClawBench OpenClawWildClawBench—54.2Only 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 GLM 5.2: common questions

Is Kimi K2 Thinking better than GLM 5.2?

GLM 5.2 ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 18 August 2026: #11 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 GLM 5.2?

Kimi K2 Thinking is cheaper on output tokens: $2.50/1M against $3.15/1M. Input tokens are $0.60/1M for Kimi K2 Thinking and $0.50/1M for GLM 5.2. Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens.

Which has the bigger context window, Kimi K2 Thinking or GLM 5.2?

GLM 5.2 has the larger context window: 1M tokens against 262K.

Which is better for coding, Kimi K2 Thinking or GLM 5.2?

Arena coding: Kimi K2 Thinking 1486, GLM 5.2 1506 — GLM 5.2 leads.

Are Kimi K2 Thinking and GLM 5.2 open-weight models?

Kimi K2 Thinking: Restricted license. GLM 5.2: Open weights. 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 GLM 5.2?

ModelCap currently lists 2 API providers for Kimi K2 Thinking and 27 for GLM 5.2, 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 GLM 5.2 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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