Inkling 2 Small vs Kimi K3
Inkling 2 Small and Kimi K3 are closely matched at 47.1 and 51.2 on the LLM Stats Score. Inkling 2 Small is 12.0x cheaper per token.
Thinking Machines Lab · Moonshot AI · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Inkling 2 Small and Kimi K3 are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 47.1 and 51.2.
In the 7 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Kimi K3 wins 6; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.
On price, Inkling 2 Small is roughly 12.0x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Kimi K3 also accepts a larger context window (1,048,576 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Inkling 2 Small
- cost matters — it's about 12.0x cheaper per token
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Nov 2026
Choose Kimi K3
- you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 6 of 7 exact shared results
- you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Capability indexes
Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks
Individual benchmarks
11 reported for Inkling 2 Small · 32 for Kimi K3
Inkling 2 Small outperforms in 1 benchmarks (MCP Atlas), while Kimi K3 is better at 5 benchmarks (AA-Briefcase, BrowseComp, CharXiv-R, GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam).
Kimi K3 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Human preference
Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Inkling 2 Small ($0.30/1M tokens) is 9.5x cheaper than Kimi K3 ($2.85/1M tokens).
For output processing, Inkling 2 Small ($1.00/1M tokens) is 14.3x cheaper than Kimi K3 ($14.25/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Kimi K3 is more expensive than Inkling 2 Small.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Kimi K3 has 2206.0B more parameters than Inkling 2 Small, making it 371.4% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Kimi K3 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to Inkling 2 Small's 256,000 tokens. Only Kimi K3 specifies output context (1,048,576 tokens).
Input capabilities
Documented input modalities across available providers
Both Inkling 2 Small and Kimi K3 support multimodal inputs.
They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.
Inkling 2 Small
Kimi K3
License
Usage and distribution terms
Inkling 2 Small is licensed under a proprietary license, while Kimi K3 uses Kimi K3 License.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Kimi K3 License
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Inkling 2 Small was released on 2026-11-05, while Kimi K3 was released on 2026-07-16.
Inkling 2 Small is 4 months newer than Kimi K3.
Nov 5, 2026
5 days ago
3mo newerJul 16, 2026
3 months 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
Inkling 2 Small is available from Thinking Machines Lab. Kimi K3 is available from DeepInfra, Fireworks, Moonshot AI, Novita, Together.
Inkling 2 Small
Kimi K3
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Inkling 2 Small and Kimi K3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Inkling 2 Small vs Kimi K3.