Model Comparison
Kimi-k1.5 vs Qwen3 30B A3BWhich is better in 2026?
Qwen3 30B A3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Verdict: Kimi-k1.5 vs Qwen3 30B A3B — which is better?
Kimi-k1.5 (by Moonshot AI) and Qwen3 30B A3B (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) 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.
Kimi-k1.5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 30B A3B is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2024). Qwen3 30B A3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Choose Kimi-k1.5 if…
- you are already invested in the Moonshot AI ecosystem
Choose Qwen3 30B A3B if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Kimi-k1.5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3 30B A3B is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2024).
Qwen3 30B A3B significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Only Qwen3 30B A3B specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Qwen3 30B A3B specifies output context (128,000 tokens).
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Kimi-k1.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3 30B A3B 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
Qwen3 30B A3B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Kimi-k1.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3 30B A3B uses Apache 2.0.
License differences may affect how you can use these models in commercial or open-source projects.
Proprietary
Closed source
Apache 2.0
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Kimi-k1.5 was released on 2025-01-20, while Qwen3 30B A3B was released on 2025-04-29.
Qwen3 30B A3B is 3 months newer than Kimi-k1.5.
Jan 20, 2025
1.5 years ago
Apr 29, 2025
1.2 years ago
3mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Neither model specifies a knowledge cutoff date.
Unable to compare the recency of their training data.
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Kimi-k1.5
View detailsMoonshot AI
Qwen3 30B A3B
View detailsAlibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Detailed Comparison
Interactive Arena
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Kimi-k1.5 and Qwen3 30B A3B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
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FAQ
Common questions about Kimi-k1.5 vs Qwen3 30B A3B.