Kimi K3 API pricing
Official Kimi list price, last checked Oct 29, 2026. Updated Oct 29, 2026.
Kimi K3 costs $3 per 1M input tokens and $15 per 1M output tokens, cached input at $0.30, and a 1M-token context window, per Kimi's official pricing page (checked Oct 29, 2026). It's a premium-priced model: number 69 of 77 by blended price ($6 per 1M tokens at a 3 to 1 input to output mix). On LMArena's Code Arena it ranks #13 of 50 models we price (relative score 43 out of 100). Cheaper pick: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash scores 46 against 43 on the same board at $0.525 blended, 11.4x less.
Kimi K3 price per million tokens
| Kimi K3 price per million tokens | USD |
|---|---|
| Input | $3 |
| Cached input | $0.30 |
| Output | $15 |
| Blended, 3 parts input to 1 part output | $6 |
| Context window | 1M tokens |
Official note from Kimi: Previous flagship. Cache writes cost $3 (5-minute) or $6 (1-hour).
What Kimi K3 costs for real work
List-price estimates for a month, no discounts. Our math, not a quote: change the token counts in the plan vs API calculator.
| Workload | Tokens a month | Kimi K3 | MiMo-V2.6 Pro Ultraspeed | Qwen3.8 Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Light: a side project or personal assistant | 2M in, 0.5M out | $13.50 | $13.05 | $7.00 |
| Medium: a small team or one product feature | 20M in, 5M out | $135 | $130 | $70.00 |
| Heavy: a production app | 200M in, 50M out | $1,350 | $1,305 | $700 |
| Medium with 80% of input cached | 20M in (16M cached), 5M out | $91.80 | $61.48 | n/a |
How Kimi K3 ranks on LMArena
Relative score: 100 is the top model we price on that board. Rank is among the models in our price table, not the full leaderboard.
| Board | Rank | Score /100 |
|---|---|---|
| Coding (Code Arena) | #13 of 50 | 43 |
| Chat (Text Arena) | #8 of 51 | 39 |
| Creative writing (Text Arena creative writing) | #12 of 51 | 23 |
| Roleplay and characters (Text Arena multi-turn) | #4 of 51 | 41 |
| Reasoning and math (Text Arena math) | #13 of 51 | 41 |
| Cheap bulk and agents (Agent Arena) | #20 of 34 | 48 |
Closest rivals to Kimi K3
The models nearest in price, other makers first. Ranks are on Code Arena, where we have them.
| Model | In / out | Blended | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| MiMo-V2.6 Pro Ultraspeed | $4.35 / $8.70 | $5.44 | MiMo-V2.6 Pro Ultraspeed wins on price. Compare |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | $4 / $20 | $8 | Kimi K3 wins on price. Compare |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | $4 / $20 | $8 | Claude Opus 5.5 for quality, Kimi K3 for price. Compare |
| Muse Wonder 1.0 | $4 / $20 | $8 | Kimi K3 wins on both. Compare |
Cheaper alternatives to Kimi K3
At least 40% cheaper blended, best LMArena score first.
| Model | In / out | Blended | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3.8 Max | $2 / $6 | $3 | Qwen3.8 Max wins on both. Compare |
| GPT-6.1 Terra | $1 / $5 | $2 | GPT-6.1 Terra wins on both. Compare |
| DeepSeek V4.1 Flash | $0.30 / $1.20 | $0.525 | DeepSeek V4.1 Flash wins on both. Compare |
More from Kimi
- Kimi K3.1 Pro$2 in, $10 out per 1M
- Kimi K3.1 Pro Highspeed$4 in, $20 out per 1M
- Kimi K2.7 Code Highspeed$1.90 in, $8 out per 1M
- Kimi K2.7 Code$0.95 in, $4 out per 1M
- Kimi K2.6$0.95 in, $4 out per 1M
FAQ
How much does the Kimi K3 API cost per million tokens?
$3 per 1M input tokens and $15 per 1M output tokens, plus $0.30 per 1M for cached input, as of Oct 29, 2026. A typical 3 to 1 input to output mix works out to $6 per 1M tokens.
Does Kimi K3 charge more for long prompts?
Kimi doesn't list a long-prompt surcharge for Kimi K3. Its pricing note says: Previous flagship. Cache writes cost $3 (5-minute) or $6 (1-hour).
Is Kimi K3 cheaper than MiMo-V2.6 Pro Ultraspeed?
No. A medium month (20M input and 5M output tokens) costs $135 on Kimi K3 and $130 on MiMo-V2.6 Pro Ultraspeed at list price. On Code Arena, Kimi K3 ranks #13 and MiMo-V2.6 Pro Ultraspeed isn't ranked.
How does Kimi K3 rank on LMArena?
On Code Arena it is #13 of 50 models we price, with a relative score of 43 out of 100. It ranks on 6 of 8 boards we track.
What is a cheaper alternative to Kimi K3?
Qwen3.8 Max costs $2 in and $6 out per 1M tokens, about 2.0x less blended, and scores 50 on Code Arena against 43 for Kimi K3.
Where does this Kimi K3 price come from?
From Kimi's official pricing page, which we check every day. This page was last checked Oct 29, 2026.