Macaron V1 Venti vs Kimi K2.8 Preview
Kimi K2.8 Preview comes out ahead, 51 to 44 on our weighted score, though Macaron V1 Venti is 29% cheaper per token.
Mindlab
Macaron V1 Venti
44/100- ECI—
- Price$0.825 / $2.48
- Context1.05M
- Our pick
Moonshot AIKimi K2.8 Preview
51/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $4.00
- Context1.05M
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Kimi K2.8 Preview is our pick
Kimi K2.8 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Macaron V1 Venti (44). It leads on inputs & features. Macaron V1 Venti wins 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 priceMacaron V1 VentiMacaron V1 Venti $1.24 · Kimi K2.8 Preview $1.75 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameMacaron V1 Venti 1,048,576 · Kimi K2.8 Preview 1,048,576 tokens
- Widest inputsKimi K2.8 PreviewMacaron V1 Venti: Text · Kimi K2.8 Preview: Text, Images, Video
- Self-hostingMacaron V1 VentiPublishes downloadable weights (MIT)
| Measure | Weight | Macaron V1 Venti | Kimi K2.8 Preview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 44 | 37 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 35 | 70 |
| Context window | 20% | 61 | 61 |
| Overall | 100% | 44/100 | 51/100 |
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 | Macaron V1 VentiMindlab | Kimi K2.8 PreviewMoonshot AI |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.825 (best) | $1.00 |
| Output | $2.48 (best) | $4.00 |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.24 (best) | $1.75 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 1 providers | Median of 2 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Max output | 131,072 tokens | — |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | Yes |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | Yes |
| Reasoning | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | OpenMIT | Proprietary |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 1 | 2 (best) |
| Released | Jul 21, 2026 | Sep 11, 2026 |
| 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.
- Macaron V1 Venti$13.20
- Kimi K2.8 Preview$18.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Macaron V1 Venti or Kimi K2.8 Preview?
Kimi K2.8 Preview is the better all-round choice, scoring 51/100 against Macaron V1 Venti (44). It leads on inputs & features. Macaron V1 Venti wins 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, Macaron V1 Venti or Kimi K2.8 Preview?
Macaron V1 Venti is cheaper at $0.825 input / $2.48 output per million tokens (median across 1 API provider). Kimi K2.8 Preview costs $1.00 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (median across 2 API providers). At a typical mix of three input tokens to one output token, that is $1.24 per million tokens for Macaron V1 Venti versus $1.75 for Kimi K2.8 Preview (1.4× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Macaron V1 Venti has not been scored yet and Kimi K2.8 Preview has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Macaron V1 Venti and Kimi K2.8 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?
Macaron V1 Venti and Kimi K2.8 Preview share the same 1,048,576-token context window. Maximum output per response: Macaron V1 Venti up to 131,072 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Macaron V1 Venti accepts text; Kimi K2.8 Preview accepts text, images and video. Kimi K2.8 Preview handles the widest range of inputs.
Are any of these open source?
Macaron V1 Venti publishes its weights (MIT) and can be self-hosted; Kimi K2.8 Preview is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Kimi K2.8 Preview is the newest, released Sep 11, 2026. Macaron V1 Venti came out Jul 21, 2026.
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.
