Model Comparison

Kimi-k1.5 vs Mistral SmallWhich is better in 2026?

Comparing Kimi-k1.5 and Mistral Small across benchmarks, pricing, and capabilities.

Verdict: Kimi-k1.5 vs Mistral Small — which is better?

Kimi-k1.5 (by Moonshot AI) and Mistral Small (by Mistral 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.

Choose Kimi-k1.5 if…

  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jan 2025

Choose Mistral Small if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
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Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

No common benchmarks found

Kimi-k1.5 and Mistral Smalldon't have any common benchmark datasets to compare. They may have been evaluated on different testing suites.

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Mistral Small specifies input context (32,768 tokens). Only Mistral Small specifies output context (32,768 tokens).

Moonshot AI
Kimi-k1.5
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Mistral AI
Mistral Small
Input32,768 tokens
Output32,768 tokens
Thu Jun 25 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Kimi-k1.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Mistral Small does not.

Kimi-k1.5 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Kimi-k1.5

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Mistral Small

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Kimi-k1.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Mistral Small uses Mistral Research License.

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

Kimi-k1.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Mistral Small

Mistral Research License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Kimi-k1.5 was released on 2025-01-20, while Mistral Small was released on 2024-09-17.

Kimi-k1.5 is 4 months newer than Mistral Small.

Kimi-k1.5

Jan 20, 2025

1.4 years ago

4mo newer
Mistral Small

Sep 17, 2024

1.8 years ago

Knowledge Cutoff

When training data ends

Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.

Unable to compare the recency of their training data.

No cutoff dates available

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Moonshot AI
Supports multimodal inputs
Mistral AI
Larger context window (32,768 tokens)
Has open weights

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Moonshot AI
Kimi-k1.5
Mistral AI
Mistral Small

FAQ

Common questions about Kimi-k1.5 vs Mistral Small.

Which is better, Kimi-k1.5 or Mistral Small?

Kimi-k1.5 (Moonshot AI) and Mistral Small (Mistral 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 Kimi-k1.5 compare to Mistral Small in benchmarks?

Kimi-k1.5 scores MATH-500: 96.2%, CLUEWSC: 91.4%, C-Eval: 88.3%, MMLU: 87.4%, IFEval: 87.2%.

What are the context window sizes for Kimi-k1.5 and Mistral Small?

Kimi-k1.5 supports an unknown number of tokens and Mistral Small supports 33K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Kimi-k1.5 and Mistral Small?

Key differences include multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Mistral Research License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Kimi-k1.5 and Mistral Small?

Kimi-k1.5 is developed by Moonshot AI and Mistral Small is developed by Mistral AI.

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