Verdict
computed from the published numbersKimi K3 wins on Terminal-Bench, on intelligence and on context window.
Price
Tied
Terminal-Bench
Kimi K3
Intelligence
Kimi K3
Context window
Kimi K3
Key takeaways
who wins on what, from the published numbersGrok 4.5 wins
- Cheaper output ($6.00 vs $12.50 /1M)
- Has web search
Kimi K3 wins
- Cheaper input ($2.00 vs $0.70 /1M)
- Larger context window (500K vs 1M)
- Higher max output (500K vs 1M)
- More serving providers (3 vs 14)
Cheaper overall
Grok 4.5
$2.00 + $6.00 /1M
Larger context
Kimi K3
1M
More providers
Kimi K3
14 providers
Pricing & specs
cheapest listed route · per 1M tokensOn-demand listed rates, OpenRouter routed quotes and Vercel reseller quotes. Enterprise commitments can be materially lower. An OpenRouter routed quote is the price of whichever upstream provider OpenRouter prefers today, so it moves day to day.
| Grok 4.5 | Kimi K3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Input $/1M | $2.00via xAI | $0.70OpenRouter routed quote best |
| Output $/1M | $6.00via xAI best | $12.50via Sail |
| Context window | 500K | 1M best |
| Max output | 500K | 1M best |
| Serving providers | 3 | 14 best |
| Date | Released Jul 7, 2026 | Released Jul 16, 2026 |
Benchmarks
Benchmark scores, side by side| Grok 4.5 | Kimi K3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Intelligence | 38.8 | 43.6 best |
| Terminal-Bench | 82% | 85% best |
| GPQA Diamond | 93% | 94% best |
| Output speed | 63 t/s best | 45 t/s |
| Latency (TTFT) | 13.52s | 3.17s best |
Cost calculator
choose a serving route for each sideInput tokens / month
Output tokens / month
Grok 4.5
via OpenRouter
$16
Kimi K3
via OpenRouter
$19
Capabilities
feature support, side by side| Feature | Grok 4.5 | Kimi K3 |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tool use | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reasoning | ✓ | ✓ |
| Audio | — | — |
| Prompt caching | ✓ | ✓ |
| Structured output | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web search | ✓ | — |
Related comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, Grok 4.5 or Kimi K3?
Kimi K3 is cheaper for input ($2.00 vs $0.70 per 1M tokens) as an OpenRouter routed quote, while Moonshot lists it at $3.00 per 1M input. Grok 4.5 is cheaper for output ($6.00 vs $12.50 per 1M tokens) from xAI.
What is the context window difference between Grok 4.5 and Kimi K3?
Grok 4.5 has a 500K-token context window and Kimi K3 has 1M tokens, so Kimi K3 can take a larger prompt.
How do Grok 4.5 and Kimi K3 compare on benchmarks?
On the tracked benchmarks, Kimi K3 leads on Terminal-Bench, and Kimi K3 leads on intelligence.
Listed prices from LiteLLM, OpenRouter and Vercel · last checked Oct 14, 2026
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