Kimi K2.6 vs Qwen3.8 Max Preview
Kimi K2.6 comes out ahead, 51 to 47 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
- Our pick
Moonshot AIKimi K2.6
51/100- ECI151.1
- Price$0.95 / $4.00
- Context262K
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3.8 Max Preview
47/100- ECI—
- Price$2.00 / $6.00
- Context1M
Add a model
Make it a three-way comparison.
Kimi K2.6 is our pick
Kimi K2.6 is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads on price and inputs & features. Qwen3.8 Max Preview wins on context window. 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 K2.6Kimi K2.6 $1.71 · Qwen3.8 Max Preview $3.00 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3.8 Max PreviewQwen3.8 Max Preview 1,000,000 · Kimi K2.6 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsKimi K2.6: Text, Images, Video · Qwen3.8 Max Preview: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingKimi K2.6Publishes downloadable weights
| Measure | Weight | Kimi K2.6 | Qwen3.8 Max Preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 39 | 27 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 80 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 51/100 | 47/100 |
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 | Kimi K2.6Moonshot AI | Qwen3.8 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen) |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 151.1 | — |
| ECI rank | #45 of 148 | — |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 90.8% | — |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1–3Research-level mathematics | 57.2% | — |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 96.1% | — |
| SWE-bench VerifiedFixing real GitHub issues | 76.7% | — |
| SimpleQA VerifiedShort factual questions | 34.9% | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.95 (best) | $2.00 |
| Output | $4.00 (best) | $6.00 |
| Cached input | $0.16 | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.71 (best) | $3.00 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Official Moonshot AI API | Median of 6 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 262,144 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | Yes | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | Yes | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | Proprietary |
| API model ID | kimi-k2.6 | — |
| API providers | 46 (best) | 6 |
| Released | Apr 21, 2026 | Jul 19, 2026 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Jan 2025 | — |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Kimi K2.6$17.50
- Qwen3.8 Max Preview$32.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Kimi K2.6 or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?
Kimi K2.6 is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Qwen3.8 Max Preview (47). It leads on price and inputs & features. Qwen3.8 Max Preview wins on context window. 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, Kimi K2.6 or Qwen3.8 Max Preview?
Kimi K2.6 is cheaper at $0.95 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (official Moonshot AI API price). Qwen3.8 Max Preview costs $2.00 input / $6.00 output per million tokens (median across 6 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.71 per million tokens for Kimi K2.6 versus $3.00 for Qwen3.8 Max Preview (1.8× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Kimi K2.6 has an ECI of 151.1 and Qwen3.8 Max Preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3.8 Max Preview 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?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Kimi K2.6. Maximum output per response: Kimi K2.6 up to 262,144, Qwen3.8 Max Preview up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Kimi K2.6 accepts text, images and video; Qwen3.8 Max Preview accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Kimi K2.6 publishes its weights and can be self-hosted; Qwen3.8 Max Preview is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3.8 Max Preview is the newest, released Jul 19, 2026. Kimi K2.6 came out Apr 21, 2026. Knowledge cutoff: Kimi K2.6 Jan 2025.
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 Oct 4, 2026.
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