Model Comparison

Kimi-k1.5 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-InstructWhich is better in 2026?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Kimi-k1.5 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct — which is better?

Kimi-k1.5 (by Moonshot AI) and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct (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-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (IFEval). Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Kimi-k1.5 if…

  • you are already invested in the Moonshot AI ecosystem

Choose Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 1 of 1 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

1 benchmarks

Kimi-k1.5 outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is better at 1 benchmark (IFEval).

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct specifies input context (65,536 tokens). Only Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct specifies output context (65,536 tokens).

Moonshot AI
Kimi-k1.5
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Input65,536 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Tue Jul 21 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Kimi-k1.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct 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

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Kimi-k1.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct uses Apache 2.0.

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

Kimi-k1.5

Proprietary

Closed source

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Kimi-k1.5 was released on 2025-01-20, while Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct was released on 2025-09-10.

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is 8 months newer than Kimi-k1.5.

Kimi-k1.5

Jan 20, 2025

1.5 years ago

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

Sep 10, 2025

10 months ago

7mo newer

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
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Larger context window (65,536 tokens)
Has open weights
Higher IFEval score (87.6% vs 87.2%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Kimi-k1.5 and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Kimi-k1.5
✓ Preferred
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Moonshot AI
Kimi-k1.5
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct

FAQ

Common questions about Kimi-k1.5 vs Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct.

Which is better, Kimi-k1.5 or Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Kimi-k1.5 is made by Moonshot AI and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Kimi-k1.5 compare to Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct in benchmarks?

Kimi-k1.5 scores MATH-500: 96.2%, CLUEWSC: 91.4%, C-Eval: 88.3%, MMLU: 87.4%, IFEval: 87.2%. Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct scores MMLU-Redux: 90.9%, MultiPL-E: 87.8%, IFEval: 87.6%, WritingBench: 87.3%, Creative Writing v3: 85.3%.

What are the context window sizes for Kimi-k1.5 and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Kimi-k1.5 supports an unknown number of tokens and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct supports 66K 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 Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Key differences include multimodal support (yes vs no), licensing (Proprietary vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Kimi-k1.5 and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct?

Kimi-k1.5 is developed by Moonshot AI and Qwen3-Next-80B-A3B-Instruct is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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