Model Comparison

Claude Sonnet 5 vs Kimi K3Which is better in 2026?

Kimi K3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 5 and Kimi K3 cost the same.

Verdict: Claude Sonnet 5 vs Kimi K3 — which is better?

Claude Sonnet 5 (by Anthropic) and Kimi K3 (by Moonshot AI) are two of the AI models people compare most. Here is how they stack up on benchmarks, price and capabilities, and which one to pick in 2026.

Claude Sonnet 5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Humanity's Last Exam), while Kimi K3 is better at 6 benchmarks (AutomationBench, BrowseComp, CharXiv-R, GDPval-AA, OfficeQA Pro, Toolathlon). Kimi K3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Kimi K3 also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Claude Sonnet 5 if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output

Choose Kimi K3 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 6 of 7 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

7 benchmarks

Claude Sonnet 5 outperforms in 1 benchmarks (Humanity's Last Exam), while Kimi K3 is better at 6 benchmarks (AutomationBench, BrowseComp, CharXiv-R, GDPval-AA, OfficeQA Pro, Toolathlon).

Kimi K3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

For input processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($3.00/1M tokens) costs the same as Kimi K3 ($3.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, Claude Sonnet 5 ($15.00/1M tokens) costs the same as Kimi K3 ($15.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Claude Sonnet 5 and Kimi K3 cost the same.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerAnthropic
Moonshot AI
Kimi K3
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerUnknown Organization
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Kimi K3 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Claude Sonnet 5's 1,000,000 tokens. Kimi K3 can generate longer responses up to 1,048,576 tokens, while Claude Sonnet 5 is limited to 64,000 tokens.

Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output64,000 tokens
Moonshot AI
Kimi K3
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output1,048,576 tokens
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Claude Sonnet 5 and Kimi K3 support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Claude Sonnet 5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Kimi K3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Claude Sonnet 5 was released on 2026-06-30, while Kimi K3 was released on 2026-07-16.

Kimi K3 is 1 month newer than Claude Sonnet 5.

Claude Sonnet 5

Jun 30, 2026

2 weeks ago

Kimi K3

Jul 16, 2026

1 days ago

2w newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Provider Availability

Claude Sonnet 5 is available from Anthropic. Kimi K3 is available from Moonshot AI.

Claude Sonnet 5

anthropic logo
Anthropic
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

Kimi K3

moonshot logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Anthropic
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (57.4% vs 56.0%)
Moonshot AI
Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Has open weights
Higher AutomationBench score (30.8% vs 13.5%)
Higher BrowseComp score (91.2% vs 84.7%)
Higher CharXiv-R score (91.3% vs 88.3%)
Higher GDPval-AA score (55.6% vs 53.9%)
Higher OfficeQA Pro score (63.3% vs 59.4%)
Higher Toolathlon score (73.2% vs 54.3%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Claude Sonnet 5 and Kimi K3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Claude Sonnet 5
✓ Preferred
Kimi K3
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Anthropic
Claude Sonnet 5
Moonshot AI
Kimi K3

FAQ

Common questions about Claude Sonnet 5 vs Kimi K3.

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 5 or Kimi K3?

Kimi K3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Claude Sonnet 5 is made by Anthropic and Kimi K3 is made by Moonshot AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Claude Sonnet 5 compare to Kimi K3 in benchmarks?

Claude Sonnet 5 scores CharXiv-R: 88.3%, ChartMuseum: 86.7%, SWE-Bench Verified: 85.2%, BrowseComp: 84.7%, GDP.pdf: 81.6%. Kimi K3 scores MathVision: 97.8%, DeepSearchQA: 95.0%, GPQA: 93.5%, CharXiv-R: 91.3%, BrowseComp: 91.2%.

Is Claude Sonnet 5 cheaper than Kimi K3?

Both models cost $3.00 per million input tokens.

What are the context window sizes for Claude Sonnet 5 and Kimi K3?

Claude Sonnet 5 supports 1.0M tokens and Kimi K3 supports 1.0M tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Claude Sonnet 5 and Kimi K3?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 1.0M), licensing (Proprietary vs Unknown). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Claude Sonnet 5 and Kimi K3?

Claude Sonnet 5 is developed by Anthropic and Kimi K3 is developed by Moonshot AI.

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