Kimi-k1.5 vs QwQ-32B
Kimi-k1.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Moonshot AI · Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team · Updated for 2026
Which is better?
Kimi-k1.5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (IFEval, MATH-500), while QwQ-32B is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2024). Kimi-k1.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Based on current benchmark, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.
Choose Kimi-k1.5
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 3 shared benchmarks
Choose QwQ-32B
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Mar 2025
- you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune
At a glance
The differences that matter most.
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Kimi-k1.5 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (IFEval, MATH-500), while QwQ-32B is better at 1 benchmark (AIME 2024).
Kimi-k1.5 shows notably better performance in the majority of benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Playground indexes and blind preference scores
Input Capabilities
Supported data types and modalities
Kimi-k1.5 supports multimodal inputs, whereas QwQ-32B 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
QwQ-32B
License
Usage and distribution terms
Kimi-k1.5 is licensed under a proprietary license, while QwQ-32B 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 QwQ-32B was released on 2025-03-05.
QwQ-32B is 1 month newer than Kimi-k1.5.
Jan 20, 2025
1.6 years ago
Mar 5, 2025
1.5 years ago
1mo newerKnowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
QwQ-32B has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-11-28, while Kimi-k1.5's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm QwQ-32B's training data extends to 2024-11-28, but cannot make a direct comparison without Kimi-k1.5's cutoff date.
—
Nov 2024
Outputs Comparison
Judge for yourself.
Run your own prompts against Kimi-k1.5 and QwQ-32B side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.
FAQ
Common questions about Kimi-k1.5 vs QwQ-32B.