text model comparison
DeepSeek-V4-Pro vs Kimi K3
DeepSeek-V4-Pro and Kimi K3 are both current text models, from DeepSeek and Moonshot Kimi. DeepSeek-V4-Pro is 56% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Kimi K3, $1.32 vs $3. On Arena Text, DeepSeek-V4-Pro scores 1465 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 1465 Elo
- Lower price per 1M input tokens
- DeepSeek-V4-Pro$1.32 against $3
- Longer context window
- Kimi K31.05M tokens against 1M tokens
- Newer release
- DeepSeek-V4-ProAug 2026 against Jul 2026
Data verified November 3, 2026 · Dataset 2026-11-03
Side by side
DeepSeek-V4-Pro 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.
| Fact | DeepSeek-V4-Pro | Kimi K3 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Price per 1M input tokens | $1.32 (better) | $3 |
| Price per 1M output tokens | $3.96 (better) | $15 |
| Independent benchmarks | ||
| Arena Text | 1465 Elo (#27 of 51) | 1488 Elo (#9 of 51) (better) |
| Arena WebDev | 1582 Elo (#26 of 45) | 1656 Elo (#13 of 45) (better) |
| FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) | 64.6% (#29 of 42) | 72.2% (#22 of 42) (better) |
| GPQA Diamond | 91.7% (#20 of 41) | 93.1% (#17 of 41) (better) |
| SimpleQA Verified | 52.9% (#19 of 38) (better) | 50.6% (#20 of 38) |
| Specs | ||
| Provider | DeepSeek | Moonshot Kimi |
| Release date | August 13, 2026 | July 16, 2026 |
| Access | API and open weights | API and open weights |
| Context window | 1,000,000 tokens | 1,048,576 tokens |
| Max output | 384,000 tokens | Not reported |
| Input | text | text, image |
| Output | text | text |
Charts
Against every current text model
Where DeepSeek-V4-Pro 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-Pro ranks #27 and Kimi K3 #9 of 51 current models. Each bar is the share of current models it beats: on score, price and context.
Independent benchmarks
Arena Text
DeepSeek-V4-Pro:#27of 51
1,465 Elo · ahead of 46%
Kimi K3:#9of 51
1,488 Elo · ahead of 84%
Arena WebDev
DeepSeek-V4-Pro:#26of 45
1,582 Elo · ahead of 41%
Kimi K3:#13of 45
1,656 Elo · ahead of 70%
FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2)
DeepSeek-V4-Pro:#29of 42
64.6% · ahead of 32%
Kimi K3:#22of 42
72.2% · ahead of 49%
GPQA Diamond
DeepSeek-V4-Pro:#20of 41
91.7% · ahead of 53%
Kimi K3:#17of 41
93.1% · ahead of 60%
SimpleQA Verified
DeepSeek-V4-Pro:#19of 38
52.9% · ahead of 51%
Kimi K3:#20of 38
50.6% · ahead of 49%
Price and context
Price per 1M input tokens
DeepSeek-V4-Pro:#26of 52
$1.32 · cheaper than 51%
Kimi K3:#42of 52
$3 · cheaper than 20%
Price per 1M output tokens
DeepSeek-V4-Pro:#24of 52
$3.96 · cheaper than 55%
Kimi K3:#41of 52
$15 · cheaper than 20%
Context window
DeepSeek-V4-Pro:#26of 64
1M tokens · longer than 22%
Kimi K3:#11of 64
1.05M tokens · longer than 67%
Quality against price
DeepSeek-V4-Pro scores 1,465 at $1.98; 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 price: the data
| Model | Provider | Blended price per 1M tokens | Arena Text (Elo) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini 4 Argon | $4 | 1,520 | |
| Claude Opus 5.5 | Anthropic | $8 | 1,509 |
| Muse Wonder | Meta | $8 | 1,507 |
| Claude Fable 5 | Anthropic | $20 | 1,504 |
| Claude Fable 5.1 | Anthropic | $20 | 1,504 |
| Gemini 3.8 Flash | $1.50 | 1,496 | |
| Muse Spark 1.3 | Meta | $2 | 1,495 |
| Claude Opus 5 | Anthropic | $10 | 1,492 |
| Kimi K3 | Moonshot Kimi | $6 | 1,488 |
| GPT-5.6 Sol | OpenAI | $8 | 1,485 |
| Gemini 3.6 Flash | $3 | 1,483 | |
| GPT-5.5 | OpenAI | $11 | 1,482 |
| Claude Opus 4.8 | Anthropic | $10 | 1,482 |
| Qwen3.8-Max | Alibaba Qwen | $3 | 1,482 |
| GPT-6.1 Sol | OpenAI | $4 | 1,481 |
| GLM-5.3 | Z.ai | $2.15 | 1,481 |
| MiMo-V2.6-Pro | Xiaomi MiMo | $0.54 | 1,480 |
| Claude Sonnet 5.5 | Anthropic | $4 | 1,477 |
| GLM-5.3-Flash | Z.ai | $0.24 | 1,477 |
| GPT-6 Astra | OpenAI | $20 | 1,476 |
| DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash | DeepSeek | $0.52 | 1,476 |
| GPT-5.4 | OpenAI | $5.63 | 1,475 |
| Gemini 3 Flash Preview | $1.13 | 1,473 | |
| Grok 4.20 | xAI | $1.56 | 1,472 |
| GPT-5.6 Terra | OpenAI | $4.50 | 1,467 |
| Grok 4.5 | xAI | $3 | 1,465 |
| DeepSeek-V4-Pro | DeepSeek | $1.98 | 1,465 |
| Claude Sonnet 5 | Anthropic | $4 | 1,462 |
| GPT-6 Sol | OpenAI | $4 | 1,458 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite | $0.85 | 1,456 | |
| Grok 4.6 | xAI | $3 | 1,455 |
| GPT-5.6 Luna | OpenAI | $0.45 | 1,453 |
| MiMo-V2.6-Flash | Xiaomi MiMo | $0.18 | 1,448 |
| Step 5 Preview | StepFun | $1.43 | 1,448 |
| Grok 4.3 | xAI | $1.56 | 1,442 |
| GPT-6 Luna | OpenAI | $0.20 | 1,441 |
| Grok 4.7 | xAI | $3 | 1,441 |
| Mistral Large 4 | Mistral AI | $1.05 | 1,432 |
| Claude Haiku 5.5 | Anthropic | $0.20 | 1,425 |
| GPT-4.1 | OpenAI | $3.50 | 1,415 |
| Solar Pro 4 | Upstage | $0.52 | 1,388 |
| GPT-4.1 mini | OpenAI | $0.70 | 1,383 |
| GPT-4.1 nano | OpenAI | $0.18 | 1,322 |
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 2.8 times as much as DeepSeek-V4-Pro, at each provider's listed rates.
10M input and 2M output tokens
Kimi K3 costs 2.8× as much
- DeepSeek-V4-Pro
- $21.12
- Kimi K3
- $60
The same, with 9M of the input tokens cached
Kimi K3 costs 3.7× as much
- DeepSeek-V4-Pro
- $9.64
- Kimi K3
- $35.70
| Workload or rate | DeepSeek-V4-Pro | Kimi K3 |
|---|---|---|
| Example workloads | ||
| 10M input and 2M output tokens | $21.12 (better) | $60 |
| The same, with 9M of the input tokens cached | $9.64 (better) | $35.70 |
| Other listed rates | ||
| 1M input tokens, cached | $0.044 (better) | $0.30 |
| 1M input tokens, off peak | $0.66 | Not listed |
| 1M output tokens, off peak | $1.98 | Not listed |
| 1M input tokens, off-peak, cached | $0.022 | Not 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
Verdict
When to choose each
DeepSeek-V4-Pro
Where it leads
- Lower input and output prices, $1.32 and $3.96 vs $3 and $15 per 1M tokens
- Higher SimpleQA Verified score, 52.9% vs 50.6%
- Cheaper cached input, $0.044 vs $0.30 per 1M tokens
Best for
- Agentic coding and terminal tasks
- Long-context jobs that need very long outputs
Watch out for
- The recorded rates are peak-hour prices (01:00 to 04:00 and 06:00 to 10:00 UTC on weekdays)
- No image input on the DeepSeek API, where the cheaper deepseek-flash has it
- DeepSeek had planned to retire it in September before extending service, so check its status before a long commitment
Kimi K3
Where it leads
- Higher Arena Text score, 1488 Elo vs 1465 Elo
- Higher Arena WebDev score, 1656 Elo vs 1582 Elo
- Higher FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2) score, 72.2% vs 64.6%
- Higher GPQA Diamond score, 93.1% vs 91.7%
- Accepts image input
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
From benchmark to production
Building on DeepSeek-V4-Pro 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
FAQ
DeepSeek-V4-Pro vs Kimi K3 FAQ
Which is cheaper, DeepSeek-V4-Pro or Kimi K3?
DeepSeek-V4-Pro is 56% cheaper per 1M input tokens than Kimi K3, $1.32 vs $3. For 10M input and 2M output tokens, DeepSeek-V4-Pro costs $21.12 and Kimi K3 $60 at standard rates.
Which is cheaper with prompt caching, DeepSeek-V4-Pro or Kimi K3?
DeepSeek-V4-Pro charges $0.044 per 1M cached input tokens, 97% 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-Pro costs $9.64 and Kimi K3 $35.70.
Which scores higher on independent benchmarks, DeepSeek-V4-Pro or Kimi K3?
Kimi K3 leads on Arena Text, 1488 Elo to 1465 Elo; Kimi K3 leads on Arena WebDev, 1656 Elo to 1582 Elo; Kimi K3 leads on FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2), 72.2% to 64.6%. Scores are independent evaluations, not either vendor's launch figures.
Which has the larger context window, DeepSeek-V4-Pro or Kimi K3?
Both accept about 1.05M tokens of context (1,048,576 and 1,000,000).
How do DeepSeek-V4-Pro and Kimi K3 differ in features?
DeepSeek-V4-Pro takes text input; Kimi K3 takes text and image.
Further reading
More on DeepSeek-V4-Pro and Kimi K3
Articles on DeepSeek-V4-Pro and Kimi K3
- Qwen vs DeepSeek vs Kimi for Agents and CodingAugust 6, 2026
- Kimi K3 vs Opus 5 vs GPT-5.6 Sol: which model should you use?July 31, 2026
Related comparisons
- DeepSeek-V4-Pro vs Mistral Large 4
- Claude Opus 5.5 vs Kimi K3
- DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs DeepSeek-V4-Pro
- GPT-6 Luna vs Kimi K3
- DeepSeek-V4-Pro vs GLM-5.3
- DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash vs Kimi K3
- DeepSeek-V4-Pro vs Gemini 3.6 Flash
- GPT-6 Astra vs Kimi K3
- DeepSeek-V4-Pro vs Grok 4.20
- Gemini 3.8 Flash vs Kimi K3
- DeepSeek-V4-Pro vs Grok 4.3
- GLM-5.3 vs Kimi K3
Production evaluation
Choosing between DeepSeek-V4-Pro 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