Claude Opus 4.8 vs Kimi K2.6
Price, context and benchmark scores side by side — every number from the live model catalogue.
| Claude Opus 4.8anthropic | Kimi K2.6moonshotai | |
|---|---|---|
| Input / 1M tokens | $5.00 | $0.600 |
| Output / 1M tokens | $25.00 | $2.72 |
| 1M in + 300K out | $12.50 | $1.42 |
| Context window | 1M | 262K |
| Intelligence index | 55.7 | 44.2 |
| Coding index | 74.3 | 61.8 |
| Agentic index | 47.2 | 30.3 |
| Cheapest provider | Azure | Baidu |
| Providers serving it | 4 | 21 |
| Weights | Closed | Open |
| Image input | Yes | Yes |
| Tool calling | Yes | Yes |
| Reasoning mode | Yes | Yes |
| Released | May 27, 2026 | Apr 20, 2026 |
Which one to pick
Pick Claude Opus 4.8 if…
- You want the higher general-intelligence score (55.7).
- Code quality is the priority — it leads on the coding index (74.3).
- You are running agent loops — higher agentic index (47.2).
- You need the bigger context window (1M).
Pick Kimi K2.6 if…
- Token cost matters: $2.72 per 1M output vs $25.00.
- You want the option to self-host — weights are public.
- You want provider redundancy: 21 providers serve it.
FAQ
Is Claude Opus 4.8 better than Kimi K2.6?
Claude Opus 4.8 scores higher on general intelligence (55.7 vs 44.2), while Kimi K2.6 is 9.2× cheaper per output token ($2.72 vs $25.00). For code, Claude Opus 4.8 leads (74.3 coding index). Claude Opus 4.8 takes the larger context at 1M.
Which is cheaper, Claude Opus 4.8 or Kimi K2.6?
Kimi K2.6, at $2.72 per 1M output tokens versus $25.00. On a 1M input + 300K output workload that is $1.42 against $12.50.
Can I self-host Claude Opus 4.8 or Kimi K2.6?
Claude Opus 4.8: closed weights, API only. Kimi K2.6: open weights (moonshotai/Kimi-K2.6).