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Comparison · 2 models · Updated Nov 2, 2026

Sakana Namazu vs Kimi K2.8 Preview

Too close to call on our weighted score (Kimi K2.8 Preview 51, Sakana Namazu 50). The right pick depends on what you value most.

  1. Sakana AI

    Sakana Namazu

    Released Aug 3, 2026

    50/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$0.95 / $4.00
    • Context262K
  2. Moonshot AI

    Kimi K2.8 Preview

    Released Sep 11, 2026New

    51/100
    • ECI—
    • Price$1.00 / $4.00
    • Context1.05M
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01 — Verdict

Too close to call

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Kimi K2.8 Preview 51/100, Sakana Namazu 50/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Sakana Namazu on price and Kimi K2.8 Preview for long inputs. 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 priceSakana NamazuSakana Namazu $1.71 · Kimi K2.8 Preview $1.75 per 1M tokens (3:1 blend)
  • Longest contextKimi K2.8 PreviewKimi K2.8 Preview 1,048,576 · Sakana Namazu 262,144 tokens
  • Widest inputsSame inputsSakana Namazu: Text, Images, PDFs · Kimi K2.8 Preview: Text, Images, Video
  • Self-hostingNo open weightsBoth are available only through APIs
How the score is built
MeasureWeightSakana NamazuKimi K2.8 Preview
Price50%3737
Inputs & features30%8070
Context window20%3761
Overall100%50/10051/100

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.

Sakana Namazu vs Kimi K2.8 Preview specifications side by side
SpecificationSakana NamazuSakana AIKimi K2.8 PreviewMoonshot AI
Capability
Capabilities Index (ECI)——
ECI rank——
Price per million tokens
Input$0.95 (best)$1.00
Output$4.00$4.00
Cached input$0.15—
Blended (3:1)$1.71 (best)$1.75
Long-context rateSame rateSame rate
Price sourceOfficial Sakana AI APIMedian of 2 providers
Limits
Context window262,144 tokens1,048,576 tokens (best)
Max output65,536 tokens—
Inputs and features
TextYesYes
ImagesYesYes
PDFsYesNo
AudioNoNo
VideoNoYes
ReasoningYesYes
Tool callingYesYes
Structured outputYesNo
Availability
WeightsProprietaryProprietary
API model IDsakana-namazu—
API providers5 (best)2
ReleasedAug 3, 2026Sep 11, 2026
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.

  • Sakana Namazu$17.50
  • Kimi K2.8 Preview$18.00
04 — Questions

Which should you choose?

Which is better: Sakana Namazu or Kimi K2.8 Preview?

It is close. Our weighted score puts them within 2 points (Kimi K2.8 Preview 51/100, Sakana Namazu 50/100), so choose by what matters most for your work: Sakana Namazu on price and Kimi K2.8 Preview for long inputs. 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, Sakana Namazu or Kimi K2.8 Preview?

Sakana Namazu is cheaper at $0.95 input / $4.00 output per million tokens (official Sakana AI API price). 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 $1.71 per million tokens for Sakana Namazu versus $1.75 for Kimi K2.8 Preview (1× as much).

Which scores higher on benchmarks?

There is no independent benchmark that covers both models yet. Sakana Namazu 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 Sakana Namazu 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?

Kimi K2.8 Preview has the largest context window at 1,048,576 tokens, against 262,144 for Sakana Namazu. Maximum output per response: Sakana Namazu up to 65,536 tokens.

Which can read images, PDFs, audio or video?

Sakana Namazu accepts text, images and PDFs; Kimi K2.8 Preview accepts text, images and video. They handle the same number of input types.

Are any of these open source?

No. Sakana Namazu and Kimi K2.8 Preview are proprietary and only available through APIs and apps.

Which is newer?

Kimi K2.8 Preview is the newest, released Sep 11, 2026. Sakana Namazu came out Aug 3, 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.