Model Comparison

Kimi K2 Base vs Qwen3 235B A22BWhich is better in 2026?

Kimi K2 Base has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Verdict: Kimi K2 Base vs Qwen3 235B A22B — which is better?

Kimi K2 Base (by Moonshot AI) and Qwen3 235B A22B (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 K2 Base outperforms in 4 benchmarks (EvalPlus, GPQA, MMLU-Pro, SuperGPQA), while Qwen3 235B A22B is better at 3 benchmarks (GSM8k, MATH, MMLU). Kimi K2 Base has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Choose Kimi K2 Base if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 4 of 7 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2025

Choose Qwen3 235B A22B if…

  • you want predictable pricing at $0.10/M input and $0.10/M output
Want to compare interactively?Try the playground

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

7 benchmarks

Kimi K2 Base outperforms in 4 benchmarks (EvalPlus, GPQA, MMLU-Pro, SuperGPQA), while Qwen3 235B A22B is better at 3 benchmarks (GSM8k, MATH, MMLU).

Kimi K2 Base has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Mon Jun 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

765.0B diff

Kimi K2 Base has 765.0B more parameters than Qwen3 235B A22B, making it 325.5% larger.

Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 Base
1.0Tparameters
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 235B A22B
235.0Bparameters
1000.0B
Kimi K2 Base
235.0B
Qwen3 235B A22B

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Qwen3 235B A22B specifies input context (128,000 tokens). Only Qwen3 235B A22B specifies output context (128,000 tokens).

Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 Base
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 235B A22B
Input128,000 tokens
Output128,000 tokens
Mon Jun 15 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Kimi K2 Base is licensed under MIT, while Qwen3 235B A22B uses Apache 2.0.

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

Kimi K2 Base

MIT

Open weights

Qwen3 235B A22B

Apache 2.0

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Kimi K2 Base was released on 2025-07-11, while Qwen3 235B A22B was released on 2025-04-29.

Kimi K2 Base is 2 months newer than Qwen3 235B A22B.

Kimi K2 Base

Jul 11, 2025

11 months ago

2mo newer
Qwen3 235B A22B

Apr 29, 2025

1.1 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
Higher EvalPlus score (80.3% vs 77.6%)
Higher GPQA score (48.1% vs 47.5%)
Higher MMLU-Pro score (69.2% vs 68.2%)
Higher SuperGPQA score (44.7% vs 44.1%)
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen3 235B A22B

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Larger context window (128,000 tokens)
Higher GSM8k score (94.4% vs 92.1%)
Higher MATH score (71.8% vs 70.2%)
Higher MMLU score (87.8% vs 87.8%)

Detailed Comparison

AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 Base
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3 235B A22B

FAQ

Common questions about Kimi K2 Base vs Qwen3 235B A22B.

Which is better, Kimi K2 Base or Qwen3 235B A22B?

Kimi K2 Base has a slight edge in benchmark performance. Kimi K2 Base is made by Moonshot AI and Qwen3 235B A22B 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 K2 Base compare to Qwen3 235B A22B in benchmarks?

Kimi K2 Base scores C-Eval: 92.5%, GSM8k: 92.1%, MMLU-redux-2.0: 90.2%, MMLU: 87.8%, TriviaQA: 85.1%. Qwen3 235B A22B scores Arena Hard: 95.6%, GSM8k: 94.4%, BBH: 88.9%, MMLU: 87.8%, MMLU-Redux: 87.4%.

What are the context window sizes for Kimi K2 Base and Qwen3 235B A22B?

Kimi K2 Base supports an unknown number of tokens and Qwen3 235B A22B supports 128K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Kimi K2 Base and Qwen3 235B A22B?

Key differences include licensing (MIT vs Apache 2.0). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Kimi K2 Base and Qwen3 235B A22B?

Kimi K2 Base is developed by Moonshot AI and Qwen3 235B A22B is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team.

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