Model Comparison
Devstral Small 1.1 vs Kimi K2 InstructWhich is better in 2026?
Comparing Devstral Small 1.1 and Kimi K2 Instruct across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.
Verdict: Devstral Small 1.1 vs Kimi K2 Instruct — which is better?
Devstral Small 1.1 (by Mistral AI) and Kimi K2 Instruct (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.
On price, Devstral Small 1.1 is roughly 3.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Kimi K2 Instruct also accepts a larger context window (200,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Devstral Small 1.1 if…
- cost matters — it's about 3.3x cheaper per token
Choose Kimi K2 Instruct if…
- you process long inputs — it offers a 200,000 token context window
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Devstral Small 1.1 and Kimi K2 Instructdon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Devstral Small 1.1 ($0.10/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Kimi K2 Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens).
For output processing, Devstral Small 1.1 ($0.30/1M tokens) is 1.7x cheaper than Kimi K2 Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Kimi K2 Instruct is more expensive than Devstral Small 1.1.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Kimi K2 Instruct has 976.0B more parameters than Devstral Small 1.1, making it 4066.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Kimi K2 Instruct accepts 200,000 input tokens compared to Devstral Small 1.1's 128,000 tokens. Kimi K2 Instruct can generate longer responses up to 200,000 tokens, while Devstral Small 1.1 is limited to 128,000 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
Devstral Small 1.1 is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Kimi K2 Instruct uses MIT.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Apache 2.0
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Both models were released on 2025-07-11.
They likely represent similar generations of model development.
Jul 11, 2025
1.0 years ago
Jul 11, 2025
1.0 years 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
Devstral Small 1.1 is available from Mistral AI. Kimi K2 Instruct is available from Fireworks, Novita.
Devstral Small 1.1
Kimi K2 Instruct
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Devstral Small 1.1
View detailsMistral AI
Kimi K2 Instruct
View detailsMoonshot AI
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Devstral Small 1.1 and Kimi K2 Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Devstral Small 1.1 vs Kimi K2 Instruct.