Model Comparison

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Kimi K2 0905Which is better in 2026?

Kimi K2 0905 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is 2.1x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Kimi K2 0905 — which is better?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct (by IBM) and Kimi K2 0905 (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.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct outperforms in 1 benchmarks (AIME 2024), while Kimi K2 0905 is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU). Kimi K2 0905 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

On price, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is roughly 2.1x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Kimi K2 0905 also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Granite 3.3 8B Instruct if…

  • cost matters — it's about 2.1x cheaper per token
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Choose Kimi K2 0905 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

3 benchmarks

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct outperforms in 1 benchmarks (AIME 2024), while Kimi K2 0905 is better at 2 benchmarks (HumanEval, MMLU).

Kimi K2 0905 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.

Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs less

For input processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 1.2x cheaper than Kimi K2 0905 ($0.60/1M tokens).

For output processing, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Kimi K2 0905 ($2.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Kimi K2 0905 is more expensive than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerReplicate
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 0905
Input tokens$0.60
Output tokens$2.50
Best providerNovita
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Model Size

Parameter count comparison

992.0B diff

Kimi K2 0905 has 992.0B more parameters than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct, making it 12400.0% larger.

IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
8.0Bparameters
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 0905
1.0Tparameters
8.0B
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
1000.0B
Kimi K2 0905

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Kimi K2 0905 accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Granite 3.3 8B Instruct's 128,000 tokens. Kimi K2 0905 can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is limited to 8,192 tokens.

IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,192 tokens
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 0905
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports multimodal inputs, whereas Kimi K2 0905 does not.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Kimi K2 0905

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is licensed under Apache 2.0, while Kimi K2 0905 uses a proprietary license.

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

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Kimi K2 0905

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct was released on 2025-04-16, while Kimi K2 0905 was released on 2025-09-05.

Kimi K2 0905 is 5 months newer than Granite 3.3 8B Instruct.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 16, 2025

1.3 years ago

Kimi K2 0905

Sep 5, 2025

10 months ago

4mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-04-01, while Kimi K2 0905's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Granite 3.3 8B Instruct's training data extends to 2024-04-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Kimi K2 0905's cutoff date.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

Apr 2024

Kimi K2 0905

—

Provider Availability

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is available from Replicate. Kimi K2 0905 is available from Novita.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct

replicate logo
Replicate
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M

Kimi K2 0905

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.60/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

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Key Takeaways

IBM
Supports multimodal inputs
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Has open weights
Higher AIME 2024 score (81.2% vs 72.0%)
Moonshot AI
Larger context window (262,144 tokens)
Higher HumanEval score (94.5% vs 89.7%)
Higher MMLU score (90.2% vs 65.5%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Kimi K2 0905 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
✓ Preferred
Kimi K2 0905
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
IBM
Granite 3.3 8B Instruct
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 0905

FAQ

Common questions about Granite 3.3 8B Instruct vs Kimi K2 0905.

Which is better, Granite 3.3 8B Instruct or Kimi K2 0905?

Kimi K2 0905 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is made by IBM and Kimi K2 0905 is made by Moonshot AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Granite 3.3 8B Instruct compare to Kimi K2 0905 in benchmarks?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct scores HumanEval: 89.7%, AttaQ: 88.5%, HumanEval+: 86.1%, AIME 2024: 81.2%, GSM8k: 80.9%. Kimi K2 0905 scores HumanEval: 94.5%, MMLU: 90.2%, MATH: 89.1%, MMLU-Pro: 82.5%, GPQA: 75.8%.

Is Granite 3.3 8B Instruct cheaper than Kimi K2 0905?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is 1.2x cheaper for input tokens. Granite 3.3 8B Instruct costs $0.50/M input and $0.50/M output via replicate. Kimi K2 0905 costs $0.60/M input and $2.50/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Kimi K2 0905?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct supports 128K tokens and Kimi K2 0905 supports 262K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Kimi K2 0905?

Key differences include context window (128K vs 262K), input pricing ($0.50 vs $0.60/M), multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Apache 2.0 vs Proprietary). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Granite 3.3 8B Instruct and Kimi K2 0905?

Granite 3.3 8B Instruct is developed by IBM and Kimi K2 0905 is developed by Moonshot AI.

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