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Model comparison

DeepSeek-R1 vs Kimi K2

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 11 shared benchmark results across 5 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

DeepSeek
51.67/100
Margin
24.5pts
← winning
Moonshot AI
27.19/100
0 category wins0 category wins

Public leaderboard positions: DeepSeek-R1 #103 (Supported); Kimi K2 #189 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. DeepSeek-R1 and Kimi K2 share 11 comparable benchmark results. 0 of 8 categories are comparable. 0 results are unique to DeepSeek-R1; 3 to Kimi K2.

Updated July 20, 2026
Shared results
11
DeepSeek-R1 only
0
Kimi K2 only
3
Comparable categories
0 / 8

Benchmark data for DeepSeek-R1 and Kimi K2 is coming soon on BenchLM.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 11 shared benchmark results across 5 evidence categories; 0 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

BenchLM has partial data for these models, but not enough overlapping benchmark coverage to produce a fair score-level comparison yet.

Kimi K2 is priced at $0.60 input / $2.50 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.55 input / $2.19 output per 1M tokens for DeepSeek-R1.

Category breakdown

Exact category averages are shown below. Not measured means BenchLM does not have enough sourced public coverage for that model and category.

Category scores and score margins for DeepSeek-R1 and Kimi K2
CategoryDeepSeek-R1ΔKimi K2
MathDeepSeek-R1Not measuredMarginNo overlapKimi K216.1

Operational comparison

Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.

MetricDeepSeek-R1Kimi K2Comparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensDeepSeek-R1$0.55 input / $2.19 outputKimi K2$0.6 input / $2.5 outputDeepSeek-R1 has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondDeepSeek-R1Not availableKimi K243 tok/sA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenDeepSeek-R1Not availableKimi K21.51 sA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensDeepSeek-R1128KKimi K2128KListed context windows are equal.

Benchmark Deep Dive

Agentic
BenchmarkDeepSeek-R1Kimi K2Result
τ²-bench resultsSource 36.5%61.1%Kimi K2 leads
Coding
BenchmarkDeepSeek-R1Kimi K2Result
AA-SciCodeSource 40.3%34.5%DeepSeek-R1 leads
Reasoning
BenchmarkDeepSeek-R1Kimi K2Result
AA-LCRSource 54.7%51.0%DeepSeek-R1 leads
CritPtSource 1.4%0.0%DeepSeek-R1 leads
Knowledge
BenchmarkDeepSeek-R1Kimi K2Result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 20.1%19.4%DeepSeek-R1 leads
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 81.3%76.6%DeepSeek-R1 leads
AA-HLESource 14.9%7.0%DeepSeek-R1 leads
AA-Omniscience IndexSource -27.1%-27.5%DeepSeek-R1 leads
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 31.0%26.8%DeepSeek-R1 leads
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 84.0%74.2%Kimi K2 leads
Math
BenchmarkDeepSeek-R1Kimi K2Result
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source 21.404%Not comparable
FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)Source 0.000%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkDeepSeek-R1Kimi K2Result
Design Arena WebsiteSource 1083Not comparable
Inst. Following
BenchmarkDeepSeek-R1Kimi K2Result
AA-IFBenchSource 39.6%41.5%Kimi K2 leads
Frequently Asked Questions (3)

Can I compare DeepSeek-R1 and Kimi K2 on BenchLM yet?

Not fully yet. BenchLM is tracking both models, but the sourced benchmark breakdown for this comparison is still coming soon.

Why does this comparison show “coming soon”?

BenchLM only shows category winners and benchmark-level calls when we have sourced results that can be compared fairly. For these models, the public benchmark coverage is not complete enough yet.

What data is available for DeepSeek-R1 and Kimi K2 today?

DeepSeek-R1: $0.55 input / $2.19 output per 1M tokens Kimi K2: $0.60 input / $2.50 output per 1M tokens Both model pages still include creator, context window, reasoning mode, and other metadata while benchmark coverage fills in.

Self-host vs API cost

Estimates at 50,000 req/day · 1000 tokens/req average.

DeepSeek-R1
API / mo$2,055
Self-host / mo$18,221
Break-even583M/day
Kimi K2
API / mo$2,325
Self-host / moNot listed
Break-even
Proprietary model — self-hosting not applicable.
Model the full break-even

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Last updated: July 20, 2026

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