Model Comparison
Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Kimi K2-Thinking-0905
Claude Sonnet 4.6 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is 7.0x cheaper per token.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Claude Sonnet 4.6 outperforms in 3 benchmarks (BrowseComp, GPQA, SWE-Bench Verified), while Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is better at 1 benchmark (Humanity's Last Exam).
Claude Sonnet 4.6 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 6.4x more expensive than Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 ($0.47/1M tokens).
For output processing, Claude Sonnet 4.6 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 7.5x more expensive than Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 ($2.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 4.6 is more expensive than Kimi K2-Thinking-0905.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 200,000 tokens. Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 is limited to 64,000 tokens.
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Claude Sonnet 4.6 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 does not.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905
License
Usage and distribution terms
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Claude Sonnet 4.6 was released on 2026-02-17, while Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 was released on 2025-09-05.
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is 6 months newer than Kimi K2-Thinking-0905.
Feb 17, 2026
2 months ago
5mo newerSep 5, 2025
7 months ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
Claude Sonnet 4.6 is available from Anthropic. Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks.
Claude Sonnet 4.6
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Claude Sonnet 4.6
View detailsAnthropic
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905
View detailsMoonshot AI
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Kimi K2-Thinking-0905