DeepSeek V4 vs Kimi K2 Thinking
Benchmarks, API pricing and specs, head to head. Data updated 2026-06-10.
DeepSeek V4
DeepSeek · Mar 2026
The open-weights shock of 2026: ~81% SWE-bench Verified, a 1M context and MIT license at $0.30/$0.50 per million tokens.
Kimi K2 Thinking
67.6Moonshot AI · Nov 2025
A trillion-parameter open reasoning agent that can chain 200–300 tool calls — the open-weights agentic standout of late 2025.
The verdict
DeepSeek V4 wins 1 of the 1 benchmarks these models share, against 0 for Kimi K2 Thinking. On price the gap is dramatic: DeepSeek V4 works out roughly 3.1x cheaper per blended million tokens. DeepSeek V4 also takes 1M of context versus 262K for Kimi K2 Thinking.
Benchmark head-to-head 1–0
Specs & pricing
| DeepSeek V4 | Kimi K2 Thinking | |
|---|---|---|
| modhub Index | — | 67.6 |
| Input price / 1M | $0.3 | $0.6 |
| Output price / 1M | $0.5 | $2.5 |
| Context window | 1M | 262K |
| Max output | 64K | — |
| Open weights | yes (MIT) | yes (Modified MIT) |
| Reasoning model | yes | yes |
| Multimodal input | text | text |
| Knowledge cutoff | Dec 2025 | Apr 2025 |
| Released | Mar 2026 | Nov 2025 |
| Example monthly cost* | $3.75 | $9.75 |
* 10M input + 1.5M output tokens per month at list prices, no caching. Green = better value on that row.
Frequently asked questions
- Which is better, DeepSeek V4 or Kimi K2 Thinking?
- DeepSeek V4 wins 1 of the 1 benchmarks these models share, against 0 for Kimi K2 Thinking. On price the gap is dramatic: DeepSeek V4 works out roughly 3.1x cheaper per blended million tokens. DeepSeek V4 also takes 1M of context versus 262K for Kimi K2 Thinking.
- Which is cheaper, DeepSeek V4 or Kimi K2 Thinking?
- DeepSeek V4 costs $0.3/$0.5 per million input/output tokens, while Kimi K2 Thinking costs $0.6/$2.5. For a typical workload of 10M input and 1.5M output tokens per month, that's $3.75 versus $9.75.
- Which model is better for coding, DeepSeek V4 or Kimi K2 Thinking?
- On SWE-bench Verified — the standard agentic-coding benchmark — DeepSeek V4 scores ~81% versus 71.3% for Kimi K2 Thinking, making DeepSeek V4 the stronger pick for coding agents.
More comparisons
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