Model Comparison
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 vs Phi 4Which is better in 2026?
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Phi 4 is 9.7x cheaper per token.
Verdict: Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 vs Phi 4 — which is better?
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 (by Moonshot AI) and Phi 4 (by Microsoft) 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-Thinking-0905 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Phi 4 is better at 0 benchmarks. Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
On price, Phi 4 is roughly 9.7x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 also accepts a larger context window (262,144 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.
Choose Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 if…
- you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
- you process long inputs — it offers a 262,144 token context window
- you want the most recent training data — it shipped Sep 2025
Choose Phi 4 if…
- cost matters — it's about 9.7x cheaper per token
Performance Benchmarks
Comparative analysis across standard metrics
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, MMLU-Pro), while Phi 4 is better at 0 benchmarks.
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.
Arena Performance
Human preference votes
Pricing Analysis
Price comparison per million tokens
For input processing, Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 ($0.47/1M tokens) is 6.7x more expensive than Phi 4 ($0.07/1M tokens).
For output processing, Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 ($2.00/1M tokens) is 14.3x more expensive than Phi 4 ($0.14/1M tokens).
In conclusion, Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is more expensive than Phi 4.*
* Using a 3:1 ratio of input to output tokens
Model Size
Parameter count comparison
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 has 985.3B more parameters than Phi 4, making it 6702.7% larger.
Context Window
Maximum input and output token capacity
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 accepts 262,144 input tokens compared to Phi 4's 16,000 tokens. Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 can generate longer responses up to 262,144 tokens, while Phi 4 is limited to 16,000 tokens.
License
Usage and distribution terms
Both models are licensed under MIT.
Both models share the same licensing terms, providing consistent usage rights.
MIT
Open weights
MIT
Open weights
Release Timeline
When each model was launched
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 was released on 2025-09-05, while Phi 4 was released on 2024-12-12.
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is 9 months newer than Phi 4.
Sep 5, 2025
9 months ago
8mo newerDec 12, 2024
1.5 years ago
Knowledge Cutoff
When training data ends
Phi 4 has a documented knowledge cutoff of 2024-06-01, while Kimi K2-Thinking-0905's cutoff date is not specified.
We can confirm Phi 4's training data extends to 2024-06-01, but cannot make a direct comparison without Kimi K2-Thinking-0905's cutoff date.
—
Jun 2024
Provider Availability
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 is available from DeepInfra, Novita, Fireworks. Phi 4 is available from DeepInfra.
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905
Phi 4
Outputs Comparison
Key Takeaways
Kimi K2-Thinking-0905
View detailsMoonshot AI
Phi 4
View detailsMicrosoft
Detailed Comparison
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FAQ
Common questions about Kimi K2-Thinking-0905 vs Phi 4.