Kimi K2 Thinking vs DeepSeek-V3.1
Too close to call on our weighted score (Kimi K2 Thinking 58, DeepSeek-V3.1 55). The right pick depends on what you value most.
Moonshot AIKimi K2 Thinking
58/100- ECI146.0
- Price$0.60 / $2.50
- Context262K
DeepSeekDeepSeek-V3.1
55/100- ECI139.9
- Price$0.385 / $1.25
- Context131K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Kimi K2 Thinking 58/100, DeepSeek-V3.1 55/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Kimi K2 Thinking for raw capability and DeepSeek-V3.1 on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
- CapabilityKimi K2 ThinkingCapabilities Index (ECI): Kimi K2 Thinking 146.0 · DeepSeek-V3.1 139.9
- Lowest priceDeepSeek-V3.1DeepSeek-V3.1 $0.601 · Kimi K2 Thinking $1.07 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextKimi K2 ThinkingKimi K2 Thinking 262,144 · DeepSeek-V3.1 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsKimi K2 Thinking: Text · DeepSeek-V3.1: Text
- Self-hostingAll open weightsEvery model here can be downloaded and run on your own hardware
| Measure | Weight | Kimi K2 Thinking | DeepSeek-V3.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CapabilityCapabilities Index (ECI) | 50% | 73 | 65 |
| Price | 25% | 48 | 60 |
| Inputs & features | 15% | 35 | 35 |
| Context window | 10% | 37 | 24 |
| Overall | 100% | 58/100 | 55/100 |
Every spec in one table
Highlighted cells lead their row. Dashes mean the data is not published.
| Specification | Kimi K2 ThinkingMoonshot AI | DeepSeek-V3.1DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | 146.0 (best) | 139.9 |
| ECI rank | #72 of 148 (best) | #100 of 148 |
| GPQA DiamondGraduate-level science questions | 84.2% | — |
| OTIS Mock AIME 2024–2025Competition mathematics | 83.1% | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.60 | $0.385 (best) |
| Output | $2.50 | $1.25 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.07 | $0.601 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 10 providers | Median of 8 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 262,144 tokens (best) | 8,192 tokens |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Open | OpenMIT License |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 10 (best) | 8 |
| Released | Nov 6, 2025 | Aug 21, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Aug 2024 | — |
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 Thinking$11.00
- DeepSeek-V3.1$6.35
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Kimi K2 Thinking or DeepSeek-V3.1?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Kimi K2 Thinking 58/100, DeepSeek-V3.1 55/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Kimi K2 Thinking for raw capability and DeepSeek-V3.1 on price. The score weighs capability 50%, price 25%, inputs & features 15%, context window 10%.
Which is cheaper, Kimi K2 Thinking or DeepSeek-V3.1?
DeepSeek-V3.1 is cheaper at $0.385 input / $1.25 output per million tokens (median across 8 API providers). Kimi K2 Thinking costs $0.60 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (median across 10 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $0.601 per million tokens for DeepSeek-V3.1 versus $1.07 for Kimi K2 Thinking (1.8× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
Kimi K2 Thinking scores higher on the Capabilities Index (ECI): Kimi K2 Thinking 146.0 (#72 of 148) and DeepSeek-V3.1 139.9 (#100 of 148). Their confidence ranges do not overlap (143.4–147.6 vs 136.1–143.3), so the gap is a real one.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Kimi K2 Thinking and DeepSeek-V3.1 yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. On overall capability, Kimi K2 Thinking leads, which tends to carry over to coding, but test on your own codebase. Both support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Kimi K2 Thinking has the largest context window at 262,144 tokens, against 131,072 for DeepSeek-V3.1. Maximum output per response: Kimi K2 Thinking up to 262,144, DeepSeek-V3.1 up to 8,192 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Kimi K2 Thinking accepts text; DeepSeek-V3.1 accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Yes, both publish their weights (MIT License), so you can self-host them.
Which is newer?
Kimi K2 Thinking is the newest, released Nov 6, 2025. DeepSeek-V3.1 came out Aug 21, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Kimi K2 Thinking Aug 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 Oct 4, 2026.
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