Model Comparison

Kimi K3 vs MiniMax M1 40KWhich is better in 2026?

Kimi K3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Verdict: Kimi K3 vs MiniMax M1 40K — which is better?

Kimi K3 (by Moonshot AI) and MiniMax M1 40K (by MiniMax) 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 K3 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam), while MiniMax M1 40K is better at 0 benchmarks. Kimi K3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Choose Kimi K3 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 2 of 2 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Jul 2026

Choose MiniMax M1 40K if…

  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

2 benchmarks

Kimi K3 outperforms in 2 benchmarks (GPQA, Humanity's Last Exam), while MiniMax M1 40K is better at 0 benchmarks.

Kimi K3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Model Size

Parameter count comparison

2344.0B diff

Kimi K3 has 2344.0B more parameters than MiniMax M1 40K, making it 514.0% larger.

Moonshot AI
Kimi K3
2.8Tparameters
MiniMax
MiniMax M1 40K
456.0Bparameters
2800.0B
Kimi K3
456.0B
MiniMax M1 40K

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Only Kimi K3 specifies input context (1,048,576 tokens). Only Kimi K3 specifies output context (1,048,576 tokens).

Moonshot AI
Kimi K3
Input1,048,576 tokens
Output1,048,576 tokens
MiniMax
MiniMax M1 40K
Input- tokens
Output- tokens
Sun Jul 26 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Kimi K3 supports multimodal inputs, whereas MiniMax M1 40K does not.

Kimi K3 can handle both text and other forms of data like images, making it suitable for multimodal applications.

Kimi K3

Text
Images
Audio
Video

MiniMax M1 40K

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Kimi K3 was released on 2026-07-16, while MiniMax M1 40K was released on 2025-06-16.

Kimi K3 is 13 months newer than MiniMax M1 40K.

Kimi K3

Jul 16, 2026

1 weeks ago

1.1yr newer
MiniMax M1 40K

Jun 16, 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
Larger context window (1,048,576 tokens)
Supports multimodal inputs
Higher GPQA score (93.5% vs 69.2%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (56.0% vs 7.2%)
MiniMax

No standout differentiators in the data we have for this pair.

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Kimi K3 and MiniMax M1 40K side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Kimi K3
✓ Preferred
MiniMax M1 40K
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Moonshot AI
Kimi K3
MiniMax
MiniMax M1 40K

FAQ

Common questions about Kimi K3 vs MiniMax M1 40K.

Which is better, Kimi K3 or MiniMax M1 40K?

Kimi K3 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Kimi K3 is made by Moonshot AI and MiniMax M1 40K is made by MiniMax. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Kimi K3 compare to MiniMax M1 40K in benchmarks?

Kimi K3 scores MathVision: 97.8%, DeepSearchQA: 95.0%, GPQA: 93.5%, CharXiv-R: 91.3%, BrowseComp: 91.2%. MiniMax M1 40K scores MATH-500: 96.0%, AIME 2024: 83.3%, MMLU-Pro: 80.6%, ZebraLogic: 80.1%, OpenAI-MRCR: 2 needle 128k: 76.1%.

What are the context window sizes for Kimi K3 and MiniMax M1 40K?

Kimi K3 supports 1.0M tokens and MiniMax M1 40K supports an unknown number of tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Kimi K3 and MiniMax M1 40K?

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

Who makes Kimi K3 and MiniMax M1 40K?

Kimi K3 is developed by Moonshot AI and MiniMax M1 40K is developed by MiniMax.

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