Hermes 4 405B vs Kimi K2 Instruct 0905
Too close to call on our weighted score (Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 38, Hermes 4 405B 35). The right pick depends on what you value most.
Nous ResearchHermes 4 405B
35/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $3.00
- Context131K
Moonshot AIKimi K2 Instruct 0905
38/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $2.50
- Context262K
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 38/100, Hermes 4 405B 35/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 on price and Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 for long inputs. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
- CapabilityNot enough dataNo independent benchmark covers every model here yet
- Lowest priceKimi K2 Instruct 0905Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 $1.07 · Hermes 4 405B $1.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextKimi K2 Instruct 0905Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 262,144 · Hermes 4 405B 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsHermes 4 405B: Text · Kimi K2 Instruct 0905: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Hermes 4 405B | Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 40 | 46 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 25 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 35/100 | 38/100 |
Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Hermes 4 405BNous Research | Kimi K2 Instruct 0905Moonshot AI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $1.00 | $0.60 (best) |
| Output | $3.00 | $2.50 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.50 | $1.07 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 5 providers | Median of 12 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 131,072 tokens | 262,144 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 117,964 tokens (best) | 98,304 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | OpenModified MIT |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 5 | 13 (best) |
| Released | Aug 26, 2025 | Sep 5, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Aug 31, 2024 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Hermes 4 405B$16.00
- Kimi K2 Instruct 0905$11.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Hermes 4 405B or Kimi K2 Instruct 0905?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 38/100, Hermes 4 405B 35/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 on price and Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 for long inputs. The score weighs price 50%, inputs & features 30%, context window 20%. None of the shared benchmarks cover every model here yet, so capability is left out of this verdict.
Which is cheaper, Hermes 4 405B or Kimi K2 Instruct 0905?
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is cheaper at $0.60 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (median across 12 API providers). Hermes 4 405B costs $1.00 input / $3.00 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.07 per million tokens for Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 versus $1.50 for Hermes 4 405B (1.4× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Hermes 4 405B has not been scored yet and Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Hermes 4 405B and Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 131,072 for Hermes 4 405B. Maximum output per response: Hermes 4 405B up to 117,964, Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 up to 98,304 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Hermes 4 405B accepts text; Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights (Modified MIT), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is the newest, released Sep 5, 2025. Hermes 4 405B came out Aug 26, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Hermes 4 405B Aug 31, 2024.
How do you decide the winner?
Each model gets a 0–100 score on capability (50%, independent benchmark results); price (25%, blended price per million tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scale); inputs & features (15%, image, PDF, audio and video input, tool calling, structured output and reasoning); context window (10%, maximum tokens per request, log scale). Dimensions missing for any model are dropped and the remaining weights rescaled, so every model is judged on the same evidence. Specs and prices come from public model listings and the labs’ own API pages; capability scores come from independent benchmark runs. Data updated Nov 2, 2026.
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