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DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max vs Kimi K2.8 Preview

Comparing DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max and Kimi K2.8 Preview across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

DeepSeek · Moonshot AI · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max and Kimi K2.8 Preview trade strengths across price, capabilities, and technical limits. The better choice depends on the workload.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max

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

Choose Kimi K2.8 Preview

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2026

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max
DeepSeek
Kimi K2.8 Preview
Moonshot AI
Benchmark wins
—
—
Input price
$0.09 / M
— / M
Output price
$0.18 / M
— / M
Context window
1,048,576
1,048,576

Individual benchmarks

19 reported for DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max · 0 for Kimi K2.8 Preview

No common benchmarks found

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max and Kimi K2.8 Previewdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Both models have the same input context window of 1,048,576 tokens. Only DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max specifies output context (1,048,576 tokens).

DeepSeek
DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output1,048,576 tokens
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2.8 Preview
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output- tokens
Mon Sep 14 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input capabilities

Documented input modalities across available providers

Kimi K2.8 Preview supports multimodal inputs, whereas DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max does not.

Kimi K2.8 Preview can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Kimi K2.8 Preview

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max is licensed under MIT, while Kimi K2.8 Preview uses a proprietary license.

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

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max

MIT

Open weights

Kimi K2.8 Preview

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max was released on 2026-04-23, while Kimi K2.8 Preview was released on 2026-09-11.

Kimi K2.8 Preview is 5 months newer than DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max.

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max

Apr 23, 2026

4 months ago

Kimi K2.8 Preview

Sep 11, 2026

3 days ago

4mo 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

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max is available from DeepInfra, DeepSeek. Kimi K2.8 Preview is available from Moonshot AI.

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.09/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.18/1M
deepseek logo
DeepSeek
Input Price:Input: $0.14/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.28/1M

Kimi K2.8 Preview

moonshot logo
Unknown Organization
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max and Kimi K2.8 Preview side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max
✓ Preferred
Kimi K2.8 Preview
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max vs Kimi K2.8 Preview.

Which is better, DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max or Kimi K2.8 Preview?

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max (DeepSeek) and Kimi K2.8 Preview (Moonshot AI) each have strengths in different areas. Compare their benchmark scores, pricing, context windows, and capabilities above to determine which fits your needs.

How does DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max compare to Kimi K2.8 Preview in benchmarks?

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max scores CodeForces: 100.0%, HMMT Feb 26: 94.8%, LiveCodeBench: 91.6%, IMO-AnswerBench: 88.4%, GPQA: 88.1%.

What are the context window sizes for DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max and Kimi K2.8 Preview?

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max supports 1.0M tokens and Kimi K2.8 Preview 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 DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max and Kimi K2.8 Preview?

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-V4-Flash-Max and Kimi K2.8 Preview?

DeepSeek-V4-Flash-Max is developed by DeepSeek and Kimi K2.8 Preview is developed by Moonshot AI.

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