Model Comparison
DeepSeek-V3 vs Kimi K2-Thinking-0905
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. DeepSeek-V3 is 1.8x cheaper per token.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
DeepSeek-V3 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is better at 5 benchmarks (FRAMES, GPQA, MMLU-Pro, MMLU-Redux, SWE-Bench Verified).
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, DeepSeek-V3 ($0.27/1M tokens) is 1.7x cheaper than Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 ($0.47/1M tokens).
For output processing, DeepSeek-V3 ($1.10/1M tokens) is 1.8x cheaper than Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 ($2.00/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is more expensive than DeepSeek-V3.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 has 329.0B more parameters than DeepSeek-V3, making it 49.0% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to DeepSeek-V3's 131,072 tokens. Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while DeepSeek-V3 is limited to 131,072 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
DeepSeek-V3 is licensed under MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed), while Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
MIT + Model License (Commercial use allowed)
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
DeepSeek-V3 was released on 2024-12-25, while Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 was released on 2025-09-05.
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is 8 months newer than DeepSeek-V3.
Dec 25, 2024
1.3 years ago
Sep 5, 2025
7 months ago
8mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Provider Availability
DeepSeek-V3 is available from DeepSeek. Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks.
DeepSeek-V3
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
DeepSeek-V3
View detailsDeepSeek
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905
View detailsMoonshot AI
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about DeepSeek-V3 vs Kimi K2-Thinking-0905