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Van Data Team

text model comparison

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs Kimi K3

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3 are both current text models, from DeepSeek and Moonshot Kimi. DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is 90% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Kimi K3, $0.30 vs $3. On Arena Text, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash scores 1476 Elo and Kimi K3 1488 Elo (Arena, measured October 28, 2026). Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,048,576 and 1,000,000).

Higher Arena Text
Kimi K31488 Elo against 1476 Elo
Lower price per 1M input tokens
DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash$0.30 against $3
Longer context window
Kimi K31.05M tokens against 1M tokens
Newer release
DeepSeek-V4.1-FlashSep 2026 against Jul 2026

Data verified November 3, 2026 · Dataset 2026-11-03

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Side by side

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3, line by line

Prices in effect today, compared at the same tier wherever both list one. The better value in each row is highlighted.

FactDeepSeek-V4.1-FlashKimi K3
Price
Price per 1M input tokens$0.30 (better)$3
Price per 1M output tokens$1.20 (better)$15
Independent benchmarks
Arena Text1476 Elo (#21 of 51)1488 Elo (#9 of 51) (better)
Arena WebDev1665 Elo (#12 of 45) (better)1656 Elo (#13 of 45)
FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2)71.2% (#23 of 42)72.2% (#22 of 42) (better)
GPQA Diamond93.2% (#16 of 41) (better)93.1% (#17 of 41)
SimpleQA Verified42.5% (#27 of 38)50.6% (#20 of 38) (better)
Specs
ProviderDeepSeekMoonshot Kimi
Release dateSeptember 10, 2026July 16, 2026
AccessAPI and open weightsAPI and open weights
Context window1,000,000 tokens1,048,576 tokens
Max output384,000 tokensNot reported
Inputtext, imagetext, image
Outputtexttext

Scores:Arena · 2026-11-03Epoch AI · 2026-11-03

Open both in the interactive comparison

Charts

Against every current text model

Where DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3 land among the current models of their task, on every independent benchmark, on price and on context.

Where each stands

On Arena Text, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash ranks #21 and Kimi K3 #9 of 51 current models. Each bar is the share of current models it beats: on score, price and context.

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3 among the current text models, one row per benchmark, price and context window.

Independent benchmarks

Arena Text

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash:#21of 51

1,476 Elo · ahead of 58%

Kimi K3:#9of 51

1,488 Elo · ahead of 84%

Arena WebDev

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash:#12of 45

1,665 Elo · ahead of 75%

Kimi K3:#13of 45

1,656 Elo · ahead of 70%

FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2)

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash:#23of 42

71.2% · ahead of 46%

Kimi K3:#22of 42

72.2% · ahead of 49%

GPQA Diamond

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash:#16of 41

93.2% · ahead of 63%

Kimi K3:#17of 41

93.1% · ahead of 60%

SimpleQA Verified

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash:#27of 38

42.5% · ahead of 30%

Kimi K3:#20of 38

50.6% · ahead of 49%

Price and context

Price per 1M input tokens

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash:#11of 52

$0.30 · cheaper than 75%

Kimi K3:#42of 52

$3 · cheaper than 20%

Price per 1M output tokens

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash:#10of 52

$1.20 · cheaper than 76%

Kimi K3:#41of 52

$15 · cheaper than 20%

Context window

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash:#26of 64

1M tokens · longer than 22%

Kimi K3:#11of 64

1.05M tokens · longer than 67%

Scores fromArena · 2026-11-03Epoch AI · 2026-11-03

Quality against price

Arena Text · measured October 28, 2026

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash scores 1,476 at $0.525; Kimi K3 scores 1,488 at $6 (blended price per 1M tokens). The line joins the current models no other beats on both price and Arena Text score; hover any point to name it.

Quality against priceArena Text score against price for 43 text models, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3 marked.1,2501,3001,3501,4001,4501,5001,550$0.30$1$3$10MOST ATTRACTIVE QUADRANTMedian price $3Median 1,475Blended price per 1M tokens (3 input : 1 output), log scaleArena Text (Elo)Kimi K3DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
Quality against price: the data
Arena Text score against price for 43 text models, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3 marked.
ModelProviderBlended price per 1M tokensArena Text (Elo)
Gemini 4 ArgonGoogle$41,520
Claude Opus 5.5Anthropic$81,509
Muse WonderMeta$81,507
Claude Fable 5Anthropic$201,504
Claude Fable 5.1Anthropic$201,504
Gemini 3.8 FlashGoogle$1.501,496
Muse Spark 1.3Meta$21,495
Claude Opus 5Anthropic$101,492
Kimi K3Moonshot Kimi$61,488
GPT-5.6 SolOpenAI$81,485
Gemini 3.6 FlashGoogle$31,483
GPT-5.5OpenAI$111,482
Claude Opus 4.8Anthropic$101,482
Qwen3.8-MaxAlibaba Qwen$31,482
GPT-6.1 SolOpenAI$41,481
GLM-5.3Z.ai$2.151,481
MiMo-V2.6-ProXiaomi MiMo$0.541,480
Claude Sonnet 5.5Anthropic$41,477
GLM-5.3-FlashZ.ai$0.241,477
GPT-6 AstraOpenAI$201,476
DeepSeek-V4.1-FlashDeepSeek$0.521,476
GPT-5.4OpenAI$5.631,475
Gemini 3 Flash PreviewGoogle$1.131,473
Grok 4.20xAI$1.561,472
GPT-5.6 TerraOpenAI$4.501,467
Grok 4.5xAI$31,465
DeepSeek-V4-ProDeepSeek$1.981,465
Claude Sonnet 5Anthropic$41,462
GPT-6 SolOpenAI$41,458
Gemini 3.5 Flash-LiteGoogle$0.851,456
Grok 4.6xAI$31,455
GPT-5.6 LunaOpenAI$0.451,453
MiMo-V2.6-FlashXiaomi MiMo$0.181,448
Step 5 PreviewStepFun$1.431,448
Grok 4.3xAI$1.561,442
GPT-6 LunaOpenAI$0.201,441
Grok 4.7xAI$31,441
Mistral Large 4Mistral AI$1.051,432
Claude Haiku 5.5Anthropic$0.201,425
GPT-4.1OpenAI$3.501,415
Solar Pro 4Upstage$0.521,388
GPT-4.1 miniOpenAI$0.701,383
GPT-4.1 nanoOpenAI$0.181,322

Cost

What each costs

Example workloads at each provider's listed rates, then every other rate either one lists. The cheaper figure in each row is highlighted.

The same work, priced

For 10M input and 2M output tokens, Kimi K3 costs 11 times as much as DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash, at each provider's listed rates.

What DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3 cost for the same work, at the rates each provider lists.

  • 10M input and 2M output tokens

    Kimi K3 costs 11× as much

    DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
    $5.40
    Kimi K3
    $60

  • The same, with 9M of the input tokens cached

    Kimi K3 costs 13× as much

    DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash
    $2.75
    Kimi K3
    $35.70
Workload or rateDeepSeek-V4.1-FlashKimi K3
Example workloads
10M input and 2M output tokens$5.40 (better)$60
The same, with 9M of the input tokens cached$2.75 (better)$35.70
Other listed rates
1M input tokens, cached$0.006 (better)$0.30
1M input tokens, off peak$0.15Not listed
1M output tokens, off peak$0.60Not listed
1M input tokens, off-peak, cached$0.003Not listed

Your own bill will differ. These figures use list prices and example workloads. The AI Model Cost Audit reviews your real usage, shortlists models that score as well for each task for less, and estimates the savings.

Launch price $100, regular price $150

Book the cost audit

Verdict

When to choose each

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash

Where it leads

  • Lower input and output prices, $0.30 and $1.20 vs $3 and $15 per 1M tokens
  • Higher Arena WebDev score, 1665 Elo vs 1656 Elo
  • Higher GPQA Diamond score, 93.2% vs 93.1%
  • Cheaper cached input, $0.006 vs $0.30 per 1M tokens

Best for

  • High-volume agent and multimodal workloads where per-token cost dominates
  • Teams that want a frontier-adjacent model they can also self-host under MIT terms

Watch out for

  • The recorded API rates are the peak-hour prices; DeepSeek charges half outside 01:00-04:00 and 06:00-10:00 UTC on weekdays
  • Running the open weights moves cost to your own infrastructure, which the token rates here do not represent
  • Epoch AI and Arena WebDev scored build 1017, which the API serves; Arena Text has rated only the September build so far
Full DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash profile

Kimi K3

Where it leads

  • Higher Arena Text score, 1488 Elo vs 1476 Elo
  • Higher FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) score, 72.2% vs 71.2%
  • Higher SimpleQA Verified score, 50.6% vs 42.5%

Best for

  • Teams that want a frontier-scale model they can also self-host, with one architecture across both paths
  • Long-context work at mid-tier hosted pricing

Watch out for

  • Hosted rates match Claude Sonnet 5 exactly at $3 / $15 while offering a larger context window, so the comparison turns on capability rather than price
  • Running the open weights shifts cost to infrastructure, which the token rates recorded here do not represent
  • Moonshot’s self-reported results place it ahead of Claude Opus 4.8 and GPT-5.5 but behind Claude Fable 5 and GPT-5.6 Sol; none of this was reproduced independently here
Full Kimi K3 profile

From benchmark to production

Building on DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash or Kimi K3?

Public scores rarely hold on your own data. We test both models on your real tasks, then build the agent or pipeline around the one that wins.

AI Model Cost AuditLaunch price $100, regular price $150What the audit includes

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FAQ

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs Kimi K3 FAQ

Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash or Kimi K3?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash is 90% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Kimi K3, $0.30 vs $3. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash costs $5.40 and Kimi K3 $60 at standard rates.

Which is cheaper with prompt caching, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash or Kimi K3?

DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash charges $0.006 per 1M cached input tokens, 98% below its standard input rate, and Kimi K3 $0.30, 90% below. With 9M of 10M input tokens cached and 2M output tokens, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash costs $2.75 and Kimi K3 $35.70.

Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash or Kimi K3?

Kimi K3 leads on Arena Text, 1488 Elo to 1476 Elo; DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash leads on Arena WebDev, 1665 Elo to 1656 Elo; Kimi K3 leads on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), 72.2% to 71.2%. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.

Which has the larger context window, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash or Kimi K3?

Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,048,576 and 1,000,000).

Further reading

More on DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3

Articles on DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3

Related comparisons

Production evaluation

Choosing between DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash and Kimi K3?

Public benchmarks narrow the shortlist. We run both on your own tasks, data and cost limits, then build the routing and review controls to run the winner in production.

  • A head-to-head evaluation on your real workload
  • Routing between models by cost and difficulty
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