Comparison · Google and MoonshotAI

Gemini 4 Argon vs Kimi K3

Listed API prices of Gemini 4 Argon and Kimi K3 turned into the cost of the same three standard tasks, with speed from our own test requests in the United States. Output quality and answer length are not compared.

Calculated impact cost per task and per month

For an L2 task (deep analysis over a 50,000-token document, 3 steps), Gemini 4 Argon costs $0.348 and Kimi K3 $0.522 at the prices listed in the United States on , so Gemini 4 Argon is 33.3 % less than Kimi K3, counting visible output only, without cache discounts or hidden reasoning.

TaskGemini 4 Argon, per taskKimi K3, per taskGemini 4 Argon, per monthKimi K3, per monthGemini 4 Argon vs Kimi K3, per task
L1Micro-task (classification or strict JSON extraction)$0.0050per L1 task$0.0075per L1 task$73.00per month$109.50per month−33.3 %
L2Deep analysis over a 50,000-token document$0.348per L2 task$0.522per L2 task$5,080.80per month$7,621.20per month−33.3 %
L3Agentic coding loop, 15 steps$2.72per L3 task$4.08per L3 task$39,726.60per month$59,589.90per month−33.3 %

Calculated Per month: 20 tasks an hour around the clock, 730 hours.

Prices USD per 1M tokens

PriceGemini 4 ArgonKimi K3
Input, per 1M tokens$2.00$3.00
Output, per 1M tokens$10.00$15.00
Price fromProvider's price list · source page PublishedProvider's price list · source page Published
Read · the United States · the United States
Context window1,048,576 tokens1,048,576 tokens

What can I use it for? six common tasks, our data checks

Quality on your task: not measured by Measured Lab yet.

TaskGemini 4 ArgonKimi K3
Answer customer messagesFits on price and contextFits on price and context
Pull data from invoices and documents with strict JSON and page imagesFits on price and contextNot confirmed: strict JSON output not in our data
Summarize documents and meetingsFits on price and contextFits on price and context
Translate contentFits on price and contextFits on price and context
Chat assistant on your websiteFits on price and contextFits on price and context
Write and review code with tool callsFits on price and contextNot confirmed: tool calls not in our data
Tasks it fits6 of 64 of 6

Checks of our data for six common tasks: a published price, a context window and answer length for the task and, where the task needs them, strict JSON output, page images and tool calls; prices, cost a month and terms for each model on its model card. Compare models for your own task in the model picker.

Speed in the US Observed our test requests

In our test requests from the United States, the median time to the first answer token was 3,399 ms for Gemini 4 Argon (Direct API · Google) and 10,892 ms for Kimi K3 (Direct API · Moonshot AI).

Model and routeTime to first answer token, medianOutput speed, medianAnswers
Gemini 4 ArgonDirect API · Google3,399 ms range 1,507 ms–35,339 ms81.6 tokens/s range 54.6 tokens/s–116 tokens/s95 answers on 19 dates
Kimi K3Direct API · Moonshot AI10,892 ms range 4,580 ms–22,396 ms75.1 tokens/s range 43.6 tokens/s–260 tokens/s115 answers on 23 dates
Kimi K3OpenRouter → Moonshot AI10,666 ms range 5,455 ms–48,174 ms61.5 tokens/s range 42.4 tokens/s–146 tokens/s75 answers on 15 dates

The same short request to every model, sent from a measurement point in the United States; medians of successful answers on at least 2 different dates, latest on . How we measure

Price changes in the last 30 days

  • The listed price of Gemini 4 Argon changed on on OpenRouter: output 65,536 tokens → 943,718 tokens per 1M tokens.
  • The listed price of Kimi K3 changed on on OpenRouter: output $12.53 → $11.94 per 1M tokens.
  • The listed price of Kimi K3 changed on on OpenRouter: input $0.30 → $0.24 per 1M tokens.
  • The listed price of Kimi K3 changed on on OpenRouter: output $11.94 → $10.80 per 1M tokens.
  • The listed price of Kimi K3 changed on on OpenRouter: input $0.24 → $0.19 per 1M tokens.
  • The listed price of Kimi K3 changed on on OpenRouter: output $10.80 → $15.00 per 1M tokens.
  • The listed price of Kimi K3 changed on on OpenRouter: output $15.00 → $16.00 per 1M tokens.

All model comparisons · How we check prices