Kimi K3 vs DeepSeek-V4-Pro
A side-by-side look at Kimi K3 from Moonshot AI and DeepSeek-V4-Pro from DeepSeek: list prices, context windows, licensing and capabilities, with monthly costs worked out for three common workloads.
The short version
- Lower list price: DeepSeek-V4-Pro, about 3.0× cheaper on a blended basis (three parts input to one part output).
- Context window: both accept 1M tokens.
- Open weights: both can be self-hosted (Kimi K3 License and MIT).
- Inputs: Kimi K3 accepts text, images, video; DeepSeek-V4-Pro accepts text.
- Newer release: Kimi K3 (July 16, 2026).
Specs side by side
| Kimi K3 | DeepSeek-V4-Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Moonshot AI | DeepSeek |
| Released | Jul 16, 2026 | Apr 24, 2026 |
| Status | Current | Current |
| Weights and license | Open weights Kimi K3 License | Open weights MIT |
| Tier | Frontier | Frontier |
| Context window | 1M | 1M |
| Max output | — | 375K |
| Input per 1M tokens | $3 | $1.32 |
| Output per 1M tokens | $15 | $3.96 |
| Cached input per 1M | $0.30 | $0.044 |
| Input types | Text, Images, Video | Text |
| Reasoning mode | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Parameters | 2.8T total, 104B active | 1.6T total, 49B active |
Highlighted cells are better on that line: lower price or larger limit. List prices, standard tier, checked October 10, 2026.
What they cost for real workloads
| Workload (monthly) | Kimi K3 | DeepSeek-V4-Pro | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Support chatbot30,000 conversations a month, 2,000 input and 400 output tokens each | $360 | $127 | DeepSeek-V4-Pro saves $233 |
| Document summaries2,000 documents a month, 12,000 input and 800 output tokens each | $96 | $38 | DeepSeek-V4-Pro saves $58 |
| Coding agent1,000 tasks a month, 60,000 input and 6,000 output tokens each | $270 | $103 | DeepSeek-V4-Pro saves $167 |
Standard rates without caching or batch discounts. Try your own volumes.
Choose Kimi K3 if
- you mainly need it for multimodal, which Moonshot AI emphasizes for this model
- your inputs include images, video
- 1M-token context with mostly linear-attention layers
- native image and video understanding
Choose DeepSeek-V4-Pro if
- cost per token is a deciding factor
- mIT-licensed weights at 1.6T scale
- 1M-token context and up to 384K output tokens
Our take
Both are positioned for agents, coding, long documents. On list price the gap is about 3.0×, which matters most for high-volume, input-heavy workloads. Quality differences shift with every release, so treat this page as a shortlist tool: run 20-50 of your real tasks through both, score the outputs, and divide the bill by the number of tasks each one got right.
Read the full profiles: Kimi K3 and DeepSeek-V4-Pro. For help designing that test, see how to read LLM benchmarks.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Kimi K3 or DeepSeek-V4-Pro?
DeepSeek-V4-Pro has the lower list price: $1.32 input and $3.96 output per million tokens, versus $3 and $15. Discounts for caching and batch processing can change the real bill, so price your own token mix.
Which has the bigger context window?
Kimi K3 accepts 1M tokens; both models have the same limit.
Can I run Kimi K3 or DeepSeek-V4-Pro on my own hardware?
Kimi K3 is open-weight (Kimi K3 License), so yes, with enough GPU memory. DeepSeek-V4-Pro is open-weight (MIT), so yes, with enough GPU memory.
Is Kimi K3 better than DeepSeek-V4-Pro?
It depends on the task. Public benchmarks and arena rankings move with every release and rarely match a specific workload. Use the specs here to shortlist, then test both on your own prompts and compare accuracy, latency and cost per correct answer.
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