Model Comparison

Qwen3.6 Plus vs Kimi K2.6Which is better in 2026?

Kimi K2.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3.6 Plus is 1.3x cheaper per token.

Verdict: Qwen3.6 Plus vs Kimi K2.6 — which is better?

Qwen3.6 Plus (by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team) and Kimi K2.6 (by Moonshot AI) 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.

Qwen3.6 Plus outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Kimi K2.6 is better at 22 benchmarks (AIME 2026, CharXiv-R, Claw-Eval, Finance Agent v2, FrontierSWE, GDPval-AA, GPQA, HMMT Feb 26, Humanity's Last Exam, IMO-AnswerBench, LiveBench, LiveCodeBench v6, MathVision, MCP-Mark, MMMU-Pro, OSWorld-Verified, SWE-bench Multilingual, SWE-Bench Pro, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0, Toolathlon, WideSearch). Kimi K2.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

On price, Qwen3.6 Plus is roughly 1.3x cheaper per token on a blended 3:1 input/output basis, which adds up quickly at production volume.

Qwen3.6 Plus also accepts a larger context window (1,000,000 input tokens), making it the stronger choice for long documents and large codebases.

Choose Qwen3.6 Plus if…

  • cost matters — it's about 1.3x cheaper per token
  • you process long inputs — it offers a 1,000,000 token context window

Choose Kimi K2.6 if…

  • you want the strongest raw capability — it leads on 23 of 23 shared benchmarks
  • you want the most recent training data — it shipped Apr 2026
  • you need open weights you can self-host or fine-tune

Performance Benchmarks

Comparative analysis across standard metrics

23 benchmarks

Qwen3.6 Plus outperforms in 0 benchmarks, while Kimi K2.6 is better at 22 benchmarks (AIME 2026, CharXiv-R, Claw-Eval, Finance Agent v2, FrontierSWE, GDPval-AA, GPQA, HMMT Feb 26, Humanity's Last Exam, IMO-AnswerBench, LiveBench, LiveCodeBench v6, MathVision, MCP-Mark, MMMU-Pro, OSWorld-Verified, SWE-bench Multilingual, SWE-Bench Pro, SWE-Bench Verified, Terminal-Bench 2.0, Toolathlon, WideSearch).

Kimi K2.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks.

Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Arena Performance

Human preference votes

Pricing Analysis

Price comparison per million tokens

Qwen3.6 Plus costs less

For input processing, Qwen3.6 Plus ($0.50/1M tokens) is 1.5x cheaper than Kimi K2.6 ($0.75/1M tokens).

For output processing, Qwen3.6 Plus ($3.00/1M tokens) is 1.2x cheaper than Kimi K2.6 ($3.50/1M tokens).

In conclusion, Kimi K2.6 is more expensive than Qwen3.6 Plus.*

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

Lowest available price from all providers
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3.6 Plus
Input tokens$0.50
Output tokens$3.00
Best providerTogether
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2.6
Input tokens$0.75
Output tokens$3.50
Best providerDeepinfra
Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue→

Context Window

Maximum input and output token capacity

Qwen3.6 Plus accepts 1,000,000 input tokens compared to Kimi K2.6's 262,144 tokens. Kimi K2.6 can generate longer responses up to 131,072 tokens, while Qwen3.6 Plus is limited to 65,536 tokens.

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3.6 Plus
Input1,000,000 tokens
Output65,536 tokens
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2.6
Input262,144 tokens
Output131,072 tokens
Fri Jul 17 2026 • llm-stats.com

Input Capabilities

Supported data types and modalities

Both Qwen3.6 Plus and Kimi K2.6 support multimodal inputs.

They are both capable of processing various types of data, offering versatility in application.

Qwen3.6 Plus

Text
Images
Audio
Video

Kimi K2.6

Text
Images
Audio
Video

License

Usage and distribution terms

Qwen3.6 Plus is licensed under a proprietary license, while Kimi K2.6 uses Modified MIT License.

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

Qwen3.6 Plus

Proprietary

Closed source

Kimi K2.6

Modified MIT License

Open weights

Release Timeline

When each model was launched

Qwen3.6 Plus was released on 2026-03-31, while Kimi K2.6 was released on 2026-04-20.

Kimi K2.6 is 1 month newer than Qwen3.6 Plus.

Qwen3.6 Plus

Mar 31, 2026

3 months ago

Kimi K2.6

Apr 20, 2026

2 months ago

2w newer

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

Qwen3.6 Plus is available from Together. Kimi K2.6 is available from DeepInfra, Fireworks, Moonshot AI, Novita, Together.

Qwen3.6 Plus

together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $0.50/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.00/1M

Kimi K2.6

deepinfra logo
Deepinfra
Input Price:Input: $0.75/1MOutput Price:Output: $3.50/1M
fireworks logo
Fireworks
Input Price:Input: $0.95/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.00/1M
moonshot logo
Unknown Organization
Input Price:Input: $0.95/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.00/1M
novita logo
Novita
Input Price:Input: $0.95/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.00/1M
together logo
Together
Input Price:Input: $1.20/1MOutput Price:Output: $4.50/1M
* Prices shown are per million tokens

Outputs Comparison

Notice missing or incorrect data?Start an Issue discussion→

Key Takeaways

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Qwen3.6 Plus

View details

Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team

Larger context window (1,000,000 tokens)
Less expensive input tokens
Less expensive output tokens
Moonshot AI
Has open weights
Higher AIME 2026 score (96.4% vs 95.3%)
Higher CharXiv-R score (86.7% vs 81.5%)
Higher Claw-Eval score (80.9% vs 58.7%)
Higher Finance Agent v2 score (44.9% vs 40.8%)
Higher FrontierSWE score (27.0% vs 22.0%)
Higher GDPval-AA score (40.1% vs 38.7%)
Higher GPQA score (90.5% vs 90.4%)
Higher HMMT Feb 26 score (92.7% vs 87.8%)
Higher Humanity's Last Exam score (36.4% vs 28.8%)
Higher IMO-AnswerBench score (86.0% vs 83.8%)
Higher LiveBench score (72.2% vs 70.9%)
Higher LiveCodeBench v6 score (89.6% vs 87.1%)
Higher MathVision score (93.2% vs 88.0%)
Higher MCP-Mark score (55.9% vs 48.2%)
Higher MMMU-Pro score (80.1% vs 78.8%)
Higher OSWorld-Verified score (73.1% vs 62.5%)
Higher SWE-bench Multilingual score (76.7% vs 73.8%)
Higher SWE-Bench Pro score (58.6% vs 56.6%)
Higher SWE-Bench Verified score (80.2% vs 78.8%)
Higher Terminal-Bench 2.0 score (66.7% vs 61.6%)
Higher Toolathlon score (50.0% vs 39.8%)
Higher WideSearch score (80.8% vs 74.3%)

Detailed Comparison

Interactive Arena

Judge for yourself.

Run your own prompts against Qwen3.6 Plus and Kimi K2.6 side-by-side, then vote on the output you prefer.

Qwen3.6 Plus
✓ Preferred
Kimi K2.6
Open in Playground
AI Model Comparison Table
Feature
Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team
Qwen3.6 Plus
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2.6

FAQ

Common questions about Qwen3.6 Plus vs Kimi K2.6.

Which is better, Qwen3.6 Plus or Kimi K2.6?

Kimi K2.6 significantly outperforms across most benchmarks. Qwen3.6 Plus is made by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team and Kimi K2.6 is made by Moonshot AI. The best choice depends on your use case — compare their benchmark scores, pricing, and capabilities above.

How does Qwen3.6 Plus compare to Kimi K2.6 in benchmarks?

Qwen3.6 Plus scores CountBench: 97.6%, V*: 96.9%, HMMT 2025: 96.7%, AIME 2026: 95.3%, HMMT25: 94.6%. Kimi K2.6 scores V*: 96.9%, AIME 2026: 96.4%, MathVision: 93.2%, HMMT Feb 26: 92.7%, GPQA: 90.5%.

Is Qwen3.6 Plus cheaper than Kimi K2.6?

Qwen3.6 Plus is 1.5x cheaper for input tokens. Qwen3.6 Plus costs $0.50/M input and $3.00/M output via together. Kimi K2.6 costs $0.75/M input and $3.50/M output via deepinfra.

What are the context window sizes for Qwen3.6 Plus and Kimi K2.6?

Qwen3.6 Plus supports 1.0M tokens and Kimi K2.6 supports 262K tokens. A larger context window lets you process longer documents, conversations, or codebases in a single request.

What are the main differences between Qwen3.6 Plus and Kimi K2.6?

Key differences include context window (1.0M vs 262K), input pricing ($0.50 vs $0.75/M), licensing (Proprietary vs Modified MIT License). See the full comparison above for benchmark-by-benchmark results.

Who makes Qwen3.6 Plus and Kimi K2.6?

Qwen3.6 Plus is developed by Alibaba Cloud / Qwen Team and Kimi K2.6 is developed by Moonshot AI.

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