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Kimi K2 Instruct vs MiniMax M1 80K

Kimi K2 Instruct and MiniMax M1 80K are closely matched at 21.9 and 21.4 on the LLM Stats Score. Kimi K2 Instruct is 1.9x cheaper per token.

Moonshot AI · MiniMax · Updated for 2026

Which is better?

Kimi K2 Instruct and MiniMax M1 80K are closely matched on the overall LLM Stats Score at 21.9 and 21.4.

In the 9 individual benchmarks reported for both models, Kimi K2 Instruct wins 5; this is a narrower head-to-head signal than the composite indexes.

On price, Kimi K2 Instruct is roughly 1.9x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

MiniMax M1 80K also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Based on current LLM Stats indexes, shared benchmarks, pricing, and model metadata for 2026.

Choose Kimi K2 Instruct

  • you value its reported benchmark strengths — it wins 5 of 9 exact shared results
  • cost matters — it's about 1.9x cheaper per token
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2025

Choose MiniMax M1 80K

  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window

At a glance

The differences that matter most.

Kimi K2 Instruct
Moonshot AI
MiniMax M1 80K
MiniMax
Core performance indexes
LLM Stats Score
21.9
#188
21.4
#194
Reasoning
22.0
#178
21.6
#183
Coding
12.4
#154
9.5
#177
Cost, coverage & limits
Benchmark wins
5 of 9
4 of 9
Input price
$0.50 / M
$0.55 / M
Output price
$0.50 / M
$2.20 / M
Context window
200,000
1,000,000

Capability indexes

Additional strengths measured across groups of related public benchmarks

3 shared
Index
Kimi K2 Instruct
MiniMax M1 80K
Math
22.2#142
19.6#166
Tool use
6.4#150
14.6#98
Writing
11.7#65
14.7#47
Conservative TrueSkill rating · higher is betterHow scores work

Individual benchmarks

38 reported for Kimi K2 Instruct · 16 for MiniMax M1 80K

9 shared

Kimi K2 Instruct outperforms in 5 benchmarks (GPQA, MATH-500, Multi-Challenge, SimpleQA, ZebraLogic), while MiniMax M1 80K is better at 3 benchmarks (AIME 2024, AIME 2025, Humanity's Last Exam).

Kimi K2 Instruct has a slight edge in benchmark performance.

Wed Sep 23 2026 • llm-stats.com

Human preference

Blind head-to-head votes and playground preference scores

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Kimi K2 Instruct costs less

For input processing, Kimi K2 Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 1.1x cheaper than MiniMax M1 80K ($0.55/1M tokens).

For output processing, Kimi K2 Instruct ($0.50/1M tokens) is 4.4x cheaper than MiniMax M1 80K ($2.20/1M tokens).

In conclusion, MiniMax M1 80K is more expensive than Kimi K2 Instruct.*

* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens

Lowest available price from all providers
Wed Sep 23 2026 • llm-stats.com
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 Instruct
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$0.50
Best providerFireworks
MiniMax
MiniMax M1 80K
Input tokens$0.55
Output tokens$2.20
Best providerNovita
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

544.0B diff

Kimi K2 Instruct has 544.0B more parameters than MiniMax M1 80K, making it 119.3% larger.

Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 Instruct
1.0Tparameters
MiniMax
MiniMax M1 80K
456.0Bparameters
1000.0B
Kimi K2 Instruct
456.0B
MiniMax M1 80K

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

MiniMax M1 80K accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Kimi K2 Instruct's 200,000 tokens. Kimi K2 Instruct can generate longer responses up to 200,000 tokens, while MiniMax M1 80K is limited to 40,000 tokens.

Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 Instruct
Input200,000 tokens
Output200,000 tokens
MiniMax
MiniMax M1 80K
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output40,000 tokens
Wed Sep 23 2026 • llm-stats.com

License

Usage and distribution terms

Both models are licensed under MIT.

Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.

Kimi K2 Instruct

MIT

Open weights

MiniMax M1 80K

MIT

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Kimi K2 Instruct was released on 2025-07-11, while MiniMax M1 80K was released on 2025-06-16.

Kimi K2 Instruct is 1 month newer than MiniMax M1 80K.

Kimi K2 Instruct

Jul 11, 2025

1.2 years ago

3w newer
MiniMax M1 80K

Jun 16, 2025

1.3 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

Provider Availability

Kimi K2 Instruct is available from Fireworks, Novita. MiniMax M1 80K is available from Novita.

Kimi K2 Instruct

fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $0.50/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.57/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.30/1M

MiniMax M1 80K

novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.55/1MOutput Price:Output: $2.20/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Kimi K2 Instruct and MiniMax M1 80K side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Kimi K2 Instruct
✓ Preferred
MiniMax M1 80K
Open in Playground

FAQ

Common questions about Kimi K2 Instruct vs MiniMax M1 80K.

Which is better, Kimi K2 Instruct or MiniMax M1 80K?

Kimi K2 Instruct and MiniMax M1 80K are closely matched on the LLM Stats Score at 21.9 and 21.4. Kimi K2 Instruct is made by Moonshot AI and MiniMax M1 80K is made by MiniMax. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their capability indexes, individual benchmarks, pricing, and limits above.

How does Kimi K2 Instruct compare to MiniMax M1 80K in benchmarks?

Kimi K2 Instruct scores MATH-500: 97.4%, GSM8k: 97.3%, CBNSL: 95.6%, HumanEval: 93.3%, MMLU-Redux: 92.7%. MiniMax M1 80K scores MATH-500: 96.8%, ZebraLogic: 86.8%, AIME 2024: 86.0%, MMLU-Pro: 81.1%, AIME 2025: 76.9%.

Is Kimi K2 Instruct cheaper than MiniMax M1 80K?

Kimi K2 Instruct is 1.1x cheaper for input tokens. Kimi K2 Instruct costs $0.50/M input and $0.50/M output via fireworks. MiniMax M1 80K costs $0.55/M input and $2.20/M output via novita.

What are the context window sizes for Kimi K2 Instruct and MiniMax M1 80K?

Kimi K2 Instruct supports 200K tokens and MiniMax M1 80K supports 1.0M 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 Instruct and MiniMax M1 80K?

Key differences include LLM Stats Score (21.9 vs 21.4), context window (200K vs 1.0M), input pricing ($0.50 vs $0.55/M). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Kimi K2 Instruct and MiniMax M1 80K?

Kimi K2 Instruct is developed by Moonshot AI and MiniMax M1 80K is developed by MiniMax.

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