Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 vs MiniMax M1 80K
MiniMax M1 80K comes out ahead, 47 to 38 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Moonshot AIKimi K2 Instruct 0905
38/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $2.50
- Context262K
- Our pick
MiniMaxMiniMax M1 80K
47/100- ECI—
- Price$0.55 / $2.20
- Context1M
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Make it a three-way comparison.
MiniMax M1 80K is our pick
MiniMax M1 80K is the better all-round choice, scoring 47/100 against Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 (38). It leads on price, inputs & features and 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 priceMiniMax M1 80KMiniMax M1 80K $0.963 · Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 $1.07 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextMiniMax M1 80KMiniMax M1 80K 1,000,000 · Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsKimi K2 Instruct 0905: Text · MiniMax M1 80K: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 | MiniMax M1 80K |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 46 | 48 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 60 |
| Overall | 100% | 38/100 | 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 Instruct 0905Moonshot AI | MiniMax M1 80KMiniMax |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.60 | $0.55 (best) |
| Output | $2.50 | $2.20 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.07 | $0.963 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 12 providers | Median of 5 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens (best) |
| Max output | 98,304 tokens (best) | 80,000 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | OpenModified MIT | OpenApache-2.0 |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 13 (best) | 5 |
| Released | Sep 5, 2025 | Jun 17, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | — | — |
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 Instruct 0905$11.00
- MiniMax M1 80K$9.90
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 or MiniMax M1 80K?
MiniMax M1 80K is the better all-round choice, scoring 47/100 against Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 (38). It leads on price, inputs & features and 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 Instruct 0905 or MiniMax M1 80K?
MiniMax M1 80K is cheaper at $0.55 input / $2.20 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers). Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 costs $0.60 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (median across 12 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.963 per million tokens for MiniMax M1 80K versus $1.07 for Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 (1.1× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 has not been scored yet and MiniMax M1 80K has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 and MiniMax M1 80K 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?
MiniMax M1 80K has the largest context window at 1,000,000 tokens, against 262,144 for Kimi K2 Instruct 0905. Maximum output per response: Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 up to 98,304, MiniMax M1 80K up to 80,000 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 accepts text; MiniMax M1 80K accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights (Modified MIT and Apache-2.0), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is the newest, released Sep 5, 2025. MiniMax M1 80K came out Jun 17, 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 Nov 2, 2026.
