Model comparison

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs Kimi K3

Input: $0.15
Output: $0.60
Context: 1M tokens
Released: 2026-09-10

Full model page →Moonshot AI (Kimi)Kimi K3

Input: $3.00
Output: $15.00
Context: 1M
Released: 2026-07-16

Short answer

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Kimi K3 split the 2 benchmarks both report evenly; DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is cheaper on input tokens ($0.2 vs $3 per 1M, 20×).

Specs and pricing side by side

Spec	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash	Kimi K3
Maker	DeepSeek	Moonshot AI (Kimi)
Released	2026-09-10	2026-07-16
Context window	1M tokens	1M
Input price	$0.15	$3.00
Output price	$0.60	$15.00
Parameters	552B backbone + 196B Engram · 8B active on prefill, 16B on decode	2.8T total · ~16 of 896 experts active per token
License	MIT	Kimi K3 License (custom, weights published on Hugging Face 2026-07-26)
Weights	Open weights	Open weightssame
Modalities	Text, Vision	Text, Vision, Video

Not published by either maker: max output, knowledge cutoff.

Benchmarks both models report

Benchmark	DeepSeek V4.1 Flash	Kimi K3
Terminal-Bench 2.1	90.6%	88.3%
GPQA Diamond	90.9%	93.5%

Scores are as published by each maker or its cited source; harness, reasoning effort and date can differ between rows, so treat small gaps as ties. Sources are listed on each model page.

Which one should you pick?

Pick DeepSeek V4.1 Flash if…

You care about Terminal-Bench 2.1 (it scores higher on 1 shared benchmark).
Cost matters: input tokens cost 20× less ($0.2 vs $3 per 1M).
Your use case is: agentic coding and terminal work where the published Terminal-Bench and DeepSWE scores matter.

Pick Kimi K3 if…

You care about GPQA Diamond (it scores higher on 1 shared benchmark).
You need Video input, which DeepSeek V4.1 Flash lacks.
Your use case is: reach for it for long-horizon agentic coding and browser/tool workflows that need a very long context.

FAQ

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

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Kimi K3 split the 2 benchmarks both report evenly; DeepSeek V4.1 Flash is cheaper on input tokens ($0.2 vs $3 per 1M, 20×). The better pick depends on whether you value benchmark scores, price per token, context length or openness for your workload.

How much cheaper is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash?

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash: $0.15 input, $0.60 output. Kimi K3: $3.00 input, $15.00 output (list API prices as published by each maker).

What are the context windows of DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and Kimi K3?

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash offers 1M tokens; Kimi K3 offers 1M.

Is DeepSeek V4.1 Flash newer than Kimi K3?

DeepSeek V4.1 Flash was released 2026-09-10; Kimi K3 was released 2026-07-16.