Model Comparison

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Kimi-k1.5Which is better in 2026?

Kimi-k1.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Kimi-k1.5 — which is better?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B (by DeepSeek) and Kimi-k1.5 (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.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Kimi-k1.5 is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2024, MATH-500). Kimi-k1.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Kimi-k1.5 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Kimi-k1.5 is better at 2 benchmarks (AIME 2024, MATH-500).

Kimi-k1.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Kimi-k1.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B does not.

Kimi-k1.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Kimi-k1.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is licensed under MIT, while Kimi-k1.5 uses a proprietary license.

License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B

MIT

Open weights

Kimi-k1.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Both models were released on 2025-01-20.

They likely represent similar generations of model development.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B

Jan 20, 2025

1.5 years ago

Kimi-k1.5

Jan 20, 2025

1.5 years ago

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

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

DeepSeek
Has open weights
Moonshot AI
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher AIME 2024 score (77.5% vs 52.7%)
Higher MATH-500 score (96.2% vs 83.9%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Kimi-k1.5 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
✓ Preferred
Kimi-k1.5
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
DeepSeek
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B
Moonshot AI
Kimi-k1.5

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B vs Kimi-k1.5.

Which is better, DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B or Kimi-k1.5?

Kimi-k1.5 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is made by DeepSeek and Kimi-k1.5 is made by Moonshot AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B compare to Kimi-k1.5 in benchmarks?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B scores MATH-500: 83.9%, AIME 2024: 52.7%, GPQA: 33.8%, LiveCodeBench: 16.9%. Kimi-k1.5 scores MATH-500: 96.2%, CLUEWSC: 91.4%, C-Eval: 88.3%, MMLU: 87.4%, IFEval: 87.2%.

What are the main differences between DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Kimi-k1.5?

Key differences include multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (MIT vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B and Kimi-k1.5?

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 1.5B is developed by DeepSeek and Kimi-k1.5 is developed by Moonshot AI.

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