Comparison · MoonshotAI and Qwen
Kimi K3 vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902)
Listed API prices of Kimi K3 and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) 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), Kimi K3 costs $0.522 and Qwen3.8 Max (0902) $0.336 at the prices listed in the United States on , so Kimi K3 is 55.4 % more than Qwen3.8 Max (0902), counting visible output only, without cache discounts or hidden reasoning.
| Task | Kimi K3, per task | Qwen3.8 Max (0902), per task | Kimi K3, per month | Qwen3.8 Max (0902), per month | Kimi K3 vs Qwen3.8 Max (0902), per task |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L1Micro-task (classification or strict JSON extraction) | $0.0075per L1 task | $0.0042per L1 task | $109.50per month | $61.32per month | +78.6 % |
| L2Deep analysis over a 50,000-token document | $0.522per L2 task | $0.336per L2 task | $7,621.20per month | $4,905.60per month | +55.4 % |
| L3Agentic coding loop, 15 steps | $4.08per L3 task | $2.69per L3 task | $59,589.90per month | $39,201.00per month | +52.0 % |
Calculated Per month: 20 tasks an hour around the clock, 730 hours.
Prices USD per 1M tokens
| Price | Kimi K3 | Qwen3.8 Max (0902) |
|---|---|---|
| Input, per 1M tokens | $3.00 | $2.00 |
| Output, per 1M tokens | $15.00 | $6.00 |
| Price from | Provider's price list · source page Published | Provider's price list · source page Published |
| Read | · the United States | · the United States |
| Context window | 1,048,576 tokens | 1,000,000 tokens |
What can I use it for? six common tasks, our data checks
Quality on your task: not measured by Measured Lab yet.
| Task | Kimi K3 | Qwen3.8 Max (0902) |
|---|---|---|
| Answer customer messages | Fits on price and context | Fits on price and context |
| Pull data from invoices and documents with strict JSON and page images | Not confirmed: strict JSON output not in our data | Fits on price and context |
| Summarize documents and meetings | Fits on price and context | Fits on price and context |
| Translate content | Fits on price and context | Fits on price and context |
| Chat assistant on your website | Fits on price and context | Fits on price and context |
| Write and review code with tool calls | Not confirmed: tool calls not in our data | Fits on price and context |
| Tasks it fits | 4 of 6 | 6 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 10,892 ms for Kimi K3 (Direct API · Moonshot AI) and 1,504 ms for Qwen3.8 Max (0902) (Direct API · Alibaba Cloud).
| Model and route | Time to first answer token, median | Output speed, median | Answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kimi K3Direct API · Moonshot AI | 10,892 ms range 4,580 ms–22,396 ms | 75.1 tokens/s range 43.6 tokens/s–260 tokens/s | 115 answers on 23 dates |
| Kimi K3OpenRouter → Moonshot AI | 10,666 ms range 5,455 ms–48,174 ms | 61.5 tokens/s range 42.4 tokens/s–146 tokens/s | 75 answers on 15 dates |
| Qwen3.8 Max (0902)Direct API · Alibaba Cloud | 1,504 ms range 1,113 ms–3,190 ms | 43.2 tokens/s range 24.5 tokens/s–59.9 tokens/s | 110 answers on 22 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 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.