Qwen3 Max Preview vs Kimi K2 Instruct 0905
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 comes out ahead, 38 to 33 on our weighted score, and it is the cheaper option too.
Alibaba (Qwen)Qwen3 Max Preview
33/100- ECI—
- Price$0.975 / $4.14
- Context262K
- Our pick
Moonshot AIKimi K2 Instruct 0905
38/100- ECI—
- Price$0.60 / $2.50
- Context262K
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Make it a three-way comparison.
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is our pick
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is the better all-round choice, scoring 38/100 against Qwen3 Max Preview (33). 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 · Qwen3 Max Preview $1.77 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
- Longest contextAbout the sameQwen3 Max Preview 262,144 · Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 262,144 tokens
- Widest inputsSame inputsQwen3 Max Preview: Text · Kimi K2 Instruct 0905: Text
- Self-hostingKimi K2 Instruct 0905Publishes downloadable weights (Modified MIT)
| Measure | Weight | Qwen3 Max Preview | Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | 50% | 37 | 46 |
| Inputs & features | 30% | 25 | 25 |
| Context window | 20% | 37 | 37 |
| Overall | 100% | 33/100 | 38/100 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | ||
| Capabilities Index (ECI) | — | — |
| ECI rank | — | — |
| Price per million tokens | ||
| Input | $0.975 | $0.60 (best) |
| Output | $4.14 | $2.50 (best) |
| Cached input | — | — |
| Blended (3:1) | $1.77 | $1.07 (best) |
| Long-context rate | Same rate | Same rate |
| Price source | Median of 2 providers | Median of 12 providers |
| Limits | ||
| Context window | 262,144 tokens | 262,144 tokens |
| Max output | 32,768 tokens | 98,304 tokens (best) |
| Inputs and features | ||
| Text | Yes | Yes |
| Images | No | No |
| PDFs | No | No |
| Audio | No | No |
| Video | No | No |
| Reasoning | No | No |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Structured output | No | No |
| Availability | ||
| Weights | Proprietary | OpenModified MIT |
| API model ID | — | — |
| API providers | 2 | 13 (best) |
| Released | Sep 5, 2025 | Sep 5, 2025 |
| Knowledge cutoff | Apr 2025 | — |
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
Which should you choose?
Which is better: Qwen3 Max Preview or Kimi K2 Instruct 0905?
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is the better all-round choice, scoring 38/100 against Qwen3 Max Preview (33). 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, Qwen3 Max Preview or Kimi K2 Instruct 0905?
Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 is cheaper at $0.60 input / $2.50 output per million tokens (median across 12 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 $1.77 for Qwen3 Max Preview (1.6× as much).
Which scores higher on benchmarks?
There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Qwen3 Max Preview has not been scored yet and Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 has not been scored yet.
Which is better for coding?
There are no published SWE-bench Verified results for Qwen3 Max Preview and Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 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?
Qwen3 Max Preview and Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 share the same 262,144-token context window. Maximum output per response: Qwen3 Max Preview up to 32,768, Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 up to 98,304 tokens.
Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?
Qwen3 Max Preview accepts text; Kimi K2 Instruct 0905 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; 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. Knowledge cutoff: Qwen3 Max Preview Apr 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.
