AI model comparison
Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2 Thinking
Pricing, context window, benchmarks, and features compared side by side. Or skip the guesswork and send one prompt to both.
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2.5
Kimi K2.5 is Moonshot AI's native multimodal model, delivering state-of-the-art visual coding capability and a self-directed agent swarm paradigm.
- Input / 1M
- $0.45
- Output / 1M
- $2.25
- Context
- 262K
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 Thinking
Kimi K2 Thinking is Moonshot AI’s most advanced open reasoning model to date, extending the K2 series into agentic, long-horizon reasoning.
- Input / 1M
- $0.60
- Output / 1M
- $2.50
- Context
- 262K
At a glance
Quick verdict
How the two models stack up on the things people ask about most.
Lower price
Kimi K2.5
1.2x cheaper for a typical chat
Higher intelligence score
Kimi K2.5
23.5 vs 22 on Artificial Analysis
Larger context window
Tie
262K vs 262K tokens
Newer release
Kimi K2.5
Released January 27, 2026
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores
Independent scores from Artificial Analysis. Higher is better.
Intelligence index
Coding index
Agentic index
Pricing
Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2 Thinking API pricing
Per-token API rates. Cheaper option highlighted.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Input tokensPer 1M tokens | $0.45 | $0.60 |
| Output tokensPer 1M tokens | $2.25 | $2.50 |
| Cached input (read)Per 1M tokens | $0.07 | $0.15 |
| Cache writePer 1M tokens | Not available | Not available |
What it costs in practice
Estimated cost per 1,000 requests at standard rates. Coding and long-document figures also show the cost when the input is already cached.
Chat message
2K in, 500 out
Coding task
30K in, 4K out
Long document summary
150K in, 2K out
Specs
Context window and capabilities
How much each model can read, how much it can write, and what it accepts as input.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Context window | 262K tokens | 262K tokens |
| Max output | 236K tokens | 98K tokens |
| Input types | Image, Text | Text |
| Output types | Text | Text |
| Reasoning effort levels | Not available | Not available |
| Default reasoning effort | Not available | Not available |
| Release date | January 27, 2026 | November 6, 2025 |
Features
Supported features
API features available for each model.
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| Tool calling | Supported | Supported |
| Structured outputs | Supported | Supported |
| JSON mode | Supported | Supported |
| Reasoning | Supported | Supported |
| Temperature | Supported | Supported |
| Stop sequences | Supported | Supported |
| Deterministic seed | Supported | Supported |
| Verbosity control | Not supported | Not supported |
Keep exploring
More on these models
Other head-to-heads, the full model page, and the alternatives list for each model.
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- Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-5 Mini
Our take
Kimi K2.5 is 1.2x cheaper for a typical chat. Kimi K2.5 scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index (23.5 vs 22). The right pick depends on your workload, so the quickest way to settle it is to send the same prompt to both and compare.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2 Thinking cheaper?
Kimi K2.5 is cheaper for a typical chat (2K input tokens and 500 output tokens). Kimi K2.5 costs $0.45 per 1M input tokens and $2.25 per 1M output tokens, while Kimi K2 Thinking costs $0.60 per 1M input tokens and $2.50 per 1M output tokens.
Which has a bigger context window, Kimi K2.5 or Kimi K2 Thinking?
Kimi K2.5 supports up to 262K tokens of context, compared with 262K for Kimi K2 Thinking.
Is Kimi K2.5 smarter than Kimi K2 Thinking?
On the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, Kimi K2.5 scores 23.5 and Kimi K2 Thinking scores 22, putting Kimi K2.5 ahead. Benchmarks don't capture everything, so the best test is running your own prompts through both.
Can I use Kimi K2.5 and Kimi K2 Thinking at the same time?
Yes. Shortcut Chat sends one prompt to multiple models at once, so you can see Kimi K2.5 and Kimi K2 Thinking answer side by side and keep the better response.
Why choose? Ask both.
Send one prompt to Kimi K2.5 and Kimi K2 Thinking at the same time. Compare the answers side by side and keep the best one.