Model Comparison

Grok-3 vs Kimi K2 0905Which is better in 2026?

Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Kimi K2 0905 is 5.6x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Grok-3 vs Kimi K2 0905 — which is better?

Grok-3 (by xAI) 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.

Grok-3 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2024, GPQA), while Kimi K2 0905 is better at 0 benchmarks. Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Kimi K2 0905 is roughly 5.6x 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 Grok-3 if…

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

Choose Kimi K2 0905 if…

  • cost matters — it's about 5.6x cheaper per token
  • 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

2 benchmarks

Grok-3 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (AIME 2024, GPQA), while Kimi K2 0905 is better at 0 benchmarks.

Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Kimi K2 0905 costs less

For input processing, Grok-3 ($3.00/1M tokens) is 5.0x more expensive than Kimi K2 0905 ($0.60/1M tokens).

For output processing, Grok-3 ($15.00/1M tokens) is 6.0x more expensive than Kimi K2 0905 ($2.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Grok-3 is more expensive than Kimi K2 0905.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com
xAI
Grok-3
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerxAI
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 0905
Input tokens$0.60
Output tokens$2.50
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Kimi K2 0905 accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Grok-3's 128,000 tokens. Kimi K2 0905 can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Grok-3 is limited to 8,000 tokens.

xAI
Grok-3
Input128,000 tokens
Output8,000 tokens
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 0905
Input262,144 tokens
Output262,144 tokens
Sat Jul 18 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Grok-3 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Kimi K2 0905 does not.

Grok-3 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Grok-3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Kimi K2 0905

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under proprietary licenses.

Both models have usage restrictions defined by their respective organizations.

Grok-3

Proprietary

Closed source

Kimi K2 0905

Proprietary

Closed source

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Grok-3 was released on 2025-02-17, while Kimi K2 0905 was released on 2025-09-05.

Kimi K2 0905 is 7 months newer than Grok-3.

Grok-3

Feb 17, 2025

1.4 years ago

Kimi K2 0905

Sep 5, 2025

10 months ago

6mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Grok-3 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-17, while Kimi K2 0905's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm Grok-3's training data extends to 2024-11-17, but cannot make a direct comparison without Kimi K2 0905's cutoff date.

Grok-3

Nov 2024

Kimi K2 0905

—

Provider Availability

Grok-3 is available from xAI. Kimi K2 0905 is available from Novita.

Grok-3

xai logo
xAI
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M

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

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

xAI
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher AIME 2024 score (93.3% vs 72.0%)
Higher GPQA score (84.6% vs 75.8%)
Moonshot AI
Larger context window (262,144 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
xAIGrok-3
Moonshot AIKimi K2 0905
Compare in Playground

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Grok-3 and Kimi K2 0905 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Grok-3
✓ Preferred
Kimi K2 0905
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
xAI
Grok-3
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 0905

FAQ

Common questions about Grok-3 vs Kimi K2 0905.

Which is better, Grok-3 or Kimi K2 0905?

Grok-3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Grok-3 is made by xAI 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 Grok-3 compare to Kimi K2 0905 in benchmarks?

Grok-3 scores AIME 2024: 93.3%, AIME 2025: 93.3%, GPQA: 84.6%, LiveCodeBench: 79.4%, MMMU: 78.0%. Kimi K2 0905 scores HumanEval: 94.5%, MMLU: 90.2%, MATH: 89.1%, MMLU-Pro: 82.5%, GPQA: 75.8%.

Is Grok-3 cheaper than Kimi K2 0905?

Kimi K2 0905 is 5.0x cheaper for input tokens. Grok-3 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via xai. Kimi K2 0905 costs $0.60/M input and $2.50/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for Grok-3 and Kimi K2 0905?

Grok-3 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 Grok-3 and Kimi K2 0905?

Key differences include context window (128K vs 262K), input pricing ($3.00 vs $0.60/M), multimodal support (yes vs no). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Grok-3 and Kimi K2 0905?

Grok-3 is developed by xAI and Kimi K2 0905 is developed by Moonshot AI.

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