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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 vs Relace Search

Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 comes out ahead, 38 to 35 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.

  1. Our pick

    Moonshot AI

    Kimi K2 Instruct 0905

    Released Sep 5, 2025

    38/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.60 / $2.50
    • Context262K
  2. Relace

    Relace Search

    Released Dec 8, 2025

    35/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.00 / $3.00
    • Context256K
  3. Add a model

    Make it a three-way comparison.

01 — Verdict

Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is our pick

Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is the better all-round choice, scoring 38/100 against Relace Search (35). It leads on price. 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 · Relace Search $1.50 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextKimi K2 Instruct 0905Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 262,144 · Relace Search 256,000 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsKimi K2 Instruct 0905: Text · Relace Search: Text
  • Self-hostingKimi K2 Instruct 0905Publishes downloadable weights (Modified MIT)
How the score is built
MeasureWeightKimi K2 Instruct 0905Relace Search
Price50%4640
Inputs & features30%2525
Context window20%3736
Overall100%38/10035/100

Left out because at least one model lacks the data: capability. The remaining weights were rescaled.

02 — Side by side

Every spec in one table

Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.

Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 vs Relace Search specifications side by side
SpecificationKimi K2 Instruct 0905Moonshot AIRelace SearchRelace
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.60 (best)$1.00
Output$2.50 (best)$3.00
Cached input——
Blended (3:1)$1.07 (best)$1.50
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceMedian of 12 providersMedian of 3 providers
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens (best)256,000 tokens
Max output98,304 tokens128,000 tokens (best)
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesNoNo
PDFsNoNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoNo
ReasoningNoNo
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputNoNo
Availability
WeightsOpenModified MITProprietary
API model ID——
API providers13 (best)3
ReleasedSep 5, 2025Dec 8, 2025
Knowledge cutoff——
03 — Cost

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
  • Relace Search$16.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 or Relace Search?

Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is the better all-round choice, scoring 38/100 against Relace Search (35). It leads on price. 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 Relace Search?

Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is cheaper at $0.60 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (median across 12 API providers). Relace Search costs $1.00 input / $3.00 output per million tokens (median across 3 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 Relace Search (1.4× 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 Relace Search has not been scored yet.

Which is better for coding?

There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 and Relace Search 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 256,000 for Relace Search. Maximum output per response: Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 up to 98,304, Relace Search up to 128,000 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 accepts text; Relace Search accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 publishes its weights (Modified MIT) and can be self-hosted; Relace Search is proprietary.

Which is newer?

Relace Search is the newest, released Dec 8, 2025. Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 came out Sep 5, 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.