Kimi K3
Kimi K3 is Moonshot AI's flagship model released July 27, 2026. The 1.1T parameter MoE with 32B activated, focused on Chinese language excellence. $3/$15 per 1M tokens. Now powers Cursor's Composer 2.5.
Best For
Strengths
- Best-in-class for Chinese tasks
- 256K context window
- Open-source weights (Modified MIT)
- Powers Cursor Composer 2.5 (Kimi K2.5 model)
- Strong long-document reading in Chinese
Weaknesses
- Expensive vs Chinese alternatives ($3/$15)
- English slightly weaker than Claude/GPT
- Promo expires August 11, 2026
- Less ecosystem support than OpenAI
Related Alternatives
GLM-5.2
60x cheaper, MIT license, open-source
Qwen3.8-Max
Larger model, $2/$6 per 1M, also Chinese-optimized
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Kimi K3 cost?
Kimi K3 API costs $3 per 1M input tokens and $15 per 1M output tokens. There's a promotional period until August 11, 2026 (¥6.5/¥27 per 1M). After the promo, prices may increase. Cursor Composer 2.5 is powered by Kimi K2.5 (cheaper).
Is Kimi K3 better than Claude for Chinese?
Yes, significantly. Kimi K3 handles Chinese idioms, cultural context, and nuance better than Claude Sonnet 5 for most Chinese-language tasks. For Chinese-to-English translation specifically, Kimi K3 is the best value at $3/$15 per 1M.
See Kimi K3's full record in our database
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