Model comparison

Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2.6

Price history, scores and specs for both models, line by line. Every value shows where it came from and when we last confirmed it.

Workers Ai

Kimi K2.5

Kimi multimodal agent model for visual understanding, coding, and planning.

19 checked values

View model

Workers Ai

Kimi K2.6

Kimi multimodal agent model for visual understanding, coding, and planning.

20 checked values

View model

Quick take

Where each one leads

Kimi K2.5 costs less to send text to: $0.532 per million tokens, against $0.650 per million tokens for Kimi K2.6.
Kimi K2.5 costs less per word it writes: $3.33 per million tokens, against $3.41 per million tokens for Kimi K2.6.
Kimi K2.6 scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index: 27 to 23.5.
Kimi K2.6 scores higher on the Artificial Analysis Coding Index: 61.8 to 46.8.
More people run Kimi K2.6 through OpenRouter than Kimi K2.5 right now.

Each line comes from a checked value in the tables below. Pick on your workload: price and usage matter for high volume, context and scores for long documents and agent loops.

Price history

Prices side by side, day by day

Input price history

Kimi K2.5 41 checked days, 3 Sept 2026 to 7 Nov 2026. Checked 8 Nov 2026 · OpenRouter models API
Kimi K2.6 41 checked days, 3 Sept 2026 to 7 Nov 2026. Checked 8 Nov 2026 · OpenRouter models API

Output price history

Kimi K2.5 41 checked days, 3 Sept 2026 to 7 Nov 2026. Checked 8 Nov 2026 · OpenRouter models API
Kimi K2.6 41 checked days, 3 Sept 2026 to 7 Nov 2026. Checked 8 Nov 2026 · OpenRouter models API

Prices are the listed OpenRouter base rates in US dollars. A day we could not confirm is left out of the line, never filled in.

Price

What each one costs now

Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2.6: What each one costs now
Measure	Kimi K2.5	Kimi K2.6
Input price	$0.532 per million tokens LeadsChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API	$0.650 per million tokensChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API
Output price	$3.33 per million tokens LeadsChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API	$3.41 per million tokensChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API

Scores

Benchmarks, with source and date

Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2.6: Benchmarks, with source and date
Measure	Kimi K2.5	Kimi K2.6
Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index	23.5Checked 27 Oct 2026Artificial Analysis via OpenRouter	27 LeadsChecked 27 Oct 2026Artificial Analysis via OpenRouter
Artificial Analysis Coding Index	46.8Checked 8 Nov 2026Artificial Analysis via OpenRouter	61.8 LeadsChecked 8 Nov 2026Artificial Analysis via OpenRouter
Artificial Analysis Agentic Index	Not checked yet	20.5Checked 8 Nov 2026Artificial Analysis via OpenRouter
LMArena text rating (Elo)	1,445Checked 8 Nov 2026LMArena (CC-BY-4.0), published 2026-11-06	1,456 LeadsChecked 8 Nov 2026LMArena (CC-BY-4.0), published 2026-11-06
LMArena web development rating (Elo)	1,436Checked 8 Nov 2026LMArena (CC-BY-4.0), published 2026-11-06	1,509 LeadsChecked 8 Nov 2026LMArena (CC-BY-4.0), published 2026-11-06
LMArena vision rating (Elo)	1,269Checked 8 Nov 2026LMArena (CC-BY-4.0), published 2026-11-06	1,282 LeadsChecked 8 Nov 2026LMArena (CC-BY-4.0), published 2026-11-06
Design Arena rating (Elo)	1,247Checked 8 Nov 2026Design Arena via OpenRouter	1,276 LeadsChecked 8 Nov 2026Design Arena via OpenRouter

Specs

Context, modalities and tool use

Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2.6: Context, modalities and tool use
Measure	Kimi K2.5	Kimi K2.6
Context window	262,144 tokensChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API	262,144 tokensChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API
Reads	Text, ImagesChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API	Text, ImagesChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API
Writes	TextChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API	TextChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API
Tool calling	YesChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API	YesChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API
Reasoning mode	YesChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API	YesChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API
Open weights	YesChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API	YesChecked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API
Listed since	27 Jan 2026Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API	20 Apr 2026Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter models API

Usage

How much each one is used

Kimi K2.5 vs Kimi K2.6: How much each one is used
Measure	Kimi K2.5	Kimi K2.6
Tokens served on OpenRouter in a day	2.6B (for 7 Nov 2026)Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)	12.1B Leads (for 7 Nov 2026)Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)
Requests on OpenRouter in a day	173.5K (for 7 Nov 2026)Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)	735.6K Leads (for 7 Nov 2026)Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)
Tool calls on OpenRouter in a day	18.9K (for 7 Nov 2026)Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)	174.7K Leads (for 7 Nov 2026)Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)
Token usage, last 7 days	Down 17% on the week before (for 7 Nov 2026)Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)	Up 5% on the week before Leads (for 7 Nov 2026)Checked 8 Nov 2026OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)

Tokens served a day on OpenRouter

Kimi K2.5 50 checked days, 19 Sept 2026 to 7 Nov 2026. Checked 8 Nov 2026 · OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)
Kimi K2.6 50 checked days, 19 Sept 2026 to 7 Nov 2026. Checked 8 Nov 2026 · OpenRouter model activity (741 of 741 series)

How this works

One link, either order

This link stays the same whichever order you name the two models in, so you can share it as it is. A line appears only when at least one model has a value we confirmed from a source; values we have not confirmed are left out, never guessed. To add a third record of any type, use the open comparison. Read how we check facts.