Model Comparison

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B vs Kimi K3Which is better in 2026?

Comparing K-EXAONE-236B-A23B and Kimi K3 across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: K-EXAONE-236B-A23B vs Kimi K3 — which is better?

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B (by LG AI Research) and Kimi K3 (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, K-EXAONE-236B-A23B is roughly 8.6x 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.

Choose K-EXAONE-236B-A23B if…

  • cost matters — it's about 8.6x cheaper per token

Choose Kimi K3 if…

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,048,576 token context window
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B and Kimi K3don'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

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B costs less

For input processing, K-EXAONE-236B-A23B ($0.60/1M tokens) is 5.0x cheaper than Kimi K3 ($3.00/1M tokens).

For output processing, K-EXAONE-236B-A23B ($1.00/1M tokens) is 15.0x cheaper than Kimi K3 ($15.00/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Kimi K3 is more expensive than K-EXAONE-236B-A23B.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com
LG AI Research
K-EXAONE-236B-A23B
Input tokens$0.60
Output tokens$1.00
Best providerFriendliAI
Moonshot AI
Kimi K3
Input tokens$3.00
Output tokens$15.00
Best providerUnknown Organization
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

2564.0B diff

Kimi K3 has 2564.0B more parameters than K-EXAONE-236B-A23B, making it 1086.4% larger.

LG AI Research
K-EXAONE-236B-A23B
236.0Bparameters
Moonshot AI
Kimi K3
2.8Tparameters
236.0B
K-EXAONE-236B-A23B
2800.0B
Kimi K3

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Kimi K3 accepts 1,048,576 input tokens compared to K-EXAONE-236B-A23B's 32,768 tokens. Kimi K3 can generate longer responses up to 1,048,576 tokens, while K-EXAONE-236B-A23B is limited to 32,768 tokens.

LG AI Research
K-EXAONE-236B-A23B
Input32,768 tokens
Output32,768 tokens
Moonshot AI
Kimi K3
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output1,048,576 tokens
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Kimi K3 supports multimodal inputs, whereas K-EXAONE-236B-A23B does not.

Kimi K3 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Kimi K3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B was released on 2025-12-31, while Kimi K3 was released on 2026-07-16.

Kimi K3 is 7 months newer than K-EXAONE-236B-A23B.

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B

Dec 31, 2025

6 months ago

Kimi K3

Jul 16, 2026

5 days ago

6mo newer

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2025-10-01, while Kimi K3's cutoff date is not specified.

We can confirm K-EXAONE-236B-A23B's training data extends to 2025-10-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Kimi K3's cutoff date.

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B

Oct 2025

Kimi K3

Provider Availability

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B is available from FriendliAI. Kimi K3 is available from Moonshot AI.

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B

friendli logo
FriendliAI
Input Price:Input: $0.60/1MOutput Price:Output: $1.00/1M

Kimi K3

moonshot logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $3.00/1MOutput Price:Output: $15.00/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion

Key Takeaways

Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against K-EXAONE-236B-A23B and Kimi K3 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B
✓ Preferred
Kimi K3
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
LG AI Research
K-EXAONE-236B-A23B
Moonshot AI
Kimi K3

FAQ

Common questions about K-EXAONE-236B-A23B vs Kimi K3.

Which is better, K-EXAONE-236B-A23B or Kimi K3?

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B (LG AI Research) and Kimi K3 (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 K-EXAONE-236B-A23B compare to Kimi K3 in benchmarks?

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B scores AIME 2025: 92.8%, MMMLU: 85.7%, MMLU-Pro: 83.8%, LiveCodeBench v6: 80.7%, t2-bench: 73.2%. Kimi K3 scores MathVision: 97.8%, DeepSearchQA: 95.0%, GPQA: 93.5%, CharXiv-R: 91.3%, BrowseComp: 91.2%.

Is K-EXAONE-236B-A23B cheaper than Kimi K3?

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B is 5.0x cheaper for input tokens. K-EXAONE-236B-A23B costs $0.60/M input and $1.00/M output via friendli. Kimi K3 costs $3.00/M input and $15.00/M output via moonshot.

What are the context window sizes for K-EXAONE-236B-A23B and Kimi K3?

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B supports 33K tokens and Kimi K3 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 K-EXAONE-236B-A23B and Kimi K3?

Key differences include context window (33K vs 1.0M), input pricing ($0.60 vs $3.00/M), multimodal support (no vs yes), licensing (Proprietary vs Unknown). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes K-EXAONE-236B-A23B and Kimi K3?

K-EXAONE-236B-A23B is developed by LG AI Research and Kimi K3 is developed by Moonshot AI.