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Head-to-head comparison

Kimi K3 vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902)

Kimi K3 (Moonshot AI) and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) (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 15 September 2026

As of 15 September 2026, Qwen3.8 Max (0902) holds the stronger ModelCap Index position (#5 vs #8); and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) is 2.2× cheaper per output token ($6.00/1M vs $13.28/1M).

Which should you choose?

Choose Kimi K3 if…

  • you want provider choice — 17 listed API providers against 1.
  • AA Humanity's Last Exam is your yardstick — 46.9% against 43.1%.

Choose Qwen3.8 Max (0902) if…

  • you want the stronger overall ModelCap Index position — #5 against #8 (83.2 vs 81.5 points).
  • API cost matters — $6.00/1M output tokens against $13.28/1M, about 2.2× cheaper.
  • your workload is prompt-heavy — input tokens cost $2.00/1M against $2.65/1M.
  • AA Intelligence Index is your yardstick — 45.4 against 43.8.
  • you want the more recently listed model — Qwen3.8 Max (0902) was listed 3 September 2026, Kimi K3 16 July 2026.

Kimi K3 vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902): specs, pricing and context

Specification comparison of Kimi K3 and Qwen3.8 Max (0902)
FieldKimi K3Moonshot AIQwen3.8 Max (0902)Qwen
ModelCap Index position#8#5
Index score81.583.2
EvidenceMeasuredMeasured
Input price / 1M tokens$2.65$2.00
Output price / 1M tokens$13.28$6.00
Context window1M tokens1M tokens
Max output tokens944K131K
API providers listed171
Weight accessRestricted licenseAPI only
Input modalitiesText, Image, VideoText, Image, Video
First listed16 July 20263 September 2026
PublisherMoonshot AIQwen

Evidence: 6 public benchmark observations across 6 boards · 1 public benchmark observation across 1 board. Prices are the lowest listed API offer per million tokens observed on the OpenRouter catalogue.

Benchmark scores: Kimi K3 vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902)

Public benchmark boards where Kimi K3 or Qwen3.8 Max (0902) has a published result
BoardKimi K3Qwen3.8 Max (0902)Leads
Arena codingArena (LMArena)15381530–1547Max—Only one result
LMArena AgentLMArena6.4%5.7%–7.1%Max—Only one result
ARC-AGI-2ARC Prize Foundation60.4%Max—Only one result
AA Intelligence IndexArtificial Analysis43.8intelligence-index:v4.3:max45.4intelligence-index:v4.3:reasoning-unspecifiedQwen3.8 Max (0902)
AA Humanity's Last ExamArtificial Analysis46.9%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Kimi K3 (max)":reasoning=true43.1%hle:may-2025:text-only-2158:no-tools:pass-at-1:source-model="Qwen3.8 Max (0902)":reasoning=trueKimi K3
WildClawBench OpenClawWildClawBench54.5—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 K3 vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902): common questions

Is Kimi K3 better than Qwen3.8 Max (0902)?

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) ranks higher on the ModelCap Index as of 15 September 2026: #5 against #8. 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. Their published uncertainty intervals overlap, so the rank difference alone does not establish a reliable capability advantage for your workload.

Is Kimi K3 cheaper than Qwen3.8 Max (0902)?

Qwen3.8 Max (0902) is cheaper on output tokens: $6.00/1M against $13.28/1M. Input tokens are $2.65/1M for Kimi K3 and $2.00/1M for Qwen3.8 Max (0902). Prices are the lowest listed API offer ModelCap observed, in USD per million tokens. For 1,000 requests with 2,000 input and 500 output tokens each (2M input + 0.5M output), the listed-rate estimate is $11.94 for Kimi K3 versus $7.00 for Qwen3.8 Max (0902). Qwen3.8 Max (0902) costs 41.4% less in this scenario. This excludes caching, batch discounts, prompt-length tiers, tool charges and retries; verify the selected endpoint before budgeting.

Which has the bigger context window, Kimi K3 or Qwen3.8 Max (0902)?

Both publish a 1M-token context window.

Which is better for coding, Kimi K3 or Qwen3.8 Max (0902)?

The two models do not share a coding benchmark board on ModelCap yet, so no head-to-head coding score is published; the ModelCap Index position is the closest overall signal.

Are Kimi K3 and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) open-weight models?

Kimi K3: Restricted license. Qwen3.8 Max (0902): 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 K3 and Qwen3.8 Max (0902)?

ModelCap currently lists 17 API providers for Kimi K3 and 1 for Qwen3.8 Max (0902), from the OpenRouter catalogue snapshot the site serves; each model page lists the providers and their prices.

How current is this Kimi K3 vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902) comparison?

Every figure comes from the sealed ModelCap dataset published 15 September 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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