Qwen3 Max Preview vs Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 vs Hermes 4 405B
Too close to call on our weighted score (Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 38, Hermes 4 405B 35, Qwen3 Max Preview 33). The right pick depends on what you value most.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3 Max Preview
33/100- ECI—
- Price$0.975 / $4.14
- Context262K
Moonshot AIKimi K2 Instruct 0905
38/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $2.50
- Context262K
Nous ResearchHermes 4 405B
35/100- ECI—
- Price$1.00 / $3.00
- Context131K
Too close to call
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 38/100, Hermes 4 405B 35/100, Qwen3 Max Preview 33/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 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 · Hermes 4 405B $1.50 · Qwen3 Max Preview $1.77 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextQwen3 Max Preview and Kimi K2 Instruct 0905Qwen3 Max Preview 262,144 · Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 262,144 · Hermes 4 405B 131,072 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3 Max Preview: Text · Kimi K2 Instruct 0905: Text · Hermes 4 405B: Text
- Self-hostingKimi K2 Instruct 0905 and Hermes 4 405BPublishes downloadable weights (Modified MIT)
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3 Max Preview | Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 | Hermes 4 405B |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 37 | 46 | 40 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 25 | 35 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 37 | 25 |
| Overall | 100% | 33/100 | 38/100 | 35/100 |
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 | Qwen3 Max PreviewAlibaba (Qwen) | Kimi K2 Instruct 0905Moonshot AI | Hermes 4 405BNous Research |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capability | |||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | |||
| Input | $0.975 | $0.60 (best) | $1.00 |
| Output | $4.14 | $2.50 (best) | $3.00 |
| Cached input | — | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.77 | $1.07 (best) | $1.50 |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 2 providers | Median of 12 providers | Median of 5 providers |
| Limits | |||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens (best) | 262,144 tokens (best) | 131,072 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 98,304 tokens | 117,964 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | |||
| Text | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No | No |
| Audio | No | No | No |
| Video | No | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No | No |
| Availability | |||
| Weights | Proprietary | OpenModified MIT | Open |
| API model ID | — | — | — |
| API providers | 2 | 13 (best) | 5 |
| Released | Sep 5, 2025 | Sep 5, 2025 | Aug 26, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2025 | — | Aug 31, 2024 |
What would a month cost?
Enter your expected volume in millions of tokens. List prices only; caching and batch discounts would lower these.
- Qwen3 Max Preview$18.03
- Kimi K2 Instruct 0905$11.00
- Hermes 4 405B$16.00
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3 Max Preview, Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 or Hermes 4 405B?
It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 3 points (Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 38/100, Hermes 4 405B 35/100, Qwen3 Max Preview 33/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 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, Qwen3 Max Preview, Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 or Hermes 4 405B?
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is cheaper at $0.60 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (median across 12 API providers). Hermes 4 405B costs $1.00 input / $3.00 output per million tokens (median across 5 API providers); Qwen3 Max Preview costs $0.975 input / $4.14 output per million tokens (median across 2 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 Hermes 4 405B (1.4× as much) and $1.77 for Qwen3 Max Preview (1.6× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers all three models yet. Qwen3 Max Preview has not been scored yet, Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 has not been scored yet and Hermes 4 405B has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 Max Preview, Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 and Hermes 4 405B yet, so there is no like-for-like coding score. Test both on a sample of your own tasks. All three support tool calling for agent workflows.
Which has the bigger context window?
Qwen3 Max Preview and Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 have the largest context windows (262,144 and 262,144 tokens), against 131,072 for Hermes 4 405B. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 Max Preview up to 32,768, Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 up to 98,304, Hermes 4 405B up to 117,964 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3 Max Preview accepts text; Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 accepts text; Hermes 4 405B accepts text. They handle the same number of input types.
Are any of these open source?
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 and Hermes 4 405B publishes its weights (Modified MIT) and can be self-hosted; Qwen3 Max Preview is proprietary.
Which is newer?
Qwen3 Max Preview is the newest, released Sep 5, 2025. Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 came out Sep 5, 2025; Hermes 4 405B came out Aug 26, 2025. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3 Max Preview Apr 2025, Hermes 4 405B Aug 31, 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 Nov 2, 2026.
