Model comparison
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) vs Kimi K2
Head-to-head evidence from 12 shared benchmark results across 6 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) unranked (Not scored); Kimi K2 #189 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) and Kimi K2 share 12 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 33 results are unique to DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max); 2 to Kimi K2.
Updated July 23, 2026- Shared results
- 12
- DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) only
- 33
- Kimi K2 only
- 2
- Comparable categories
- 1 / 8
Treat this as a split decision. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) makes more sense if mathematics is the priority or you want the cheaper token bill; Kimi K2 is the better fit if you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 12 shared benchmark results across 6 evidence categories; 1 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) and Kimi K2 finish on the same BenchAlign overall score, so this is less about a single winner and more about where the edge shows up. The BenchAlign headline says tie; the benchmark table is where the real choice happens.
Kimi K2 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $0.60 input / $2.50 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.14 input / $0.28 output per 1M tokens for DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max). That is roughly 8.9x on output cost alone. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) is the reasoning model in the pair, while Kimi K2 is not. That usually helps on harder chain-of-thought-heavy tests, but it can also mean more latency and more token spend in real use. DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 128K for Kimi K2.
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 | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Δ | Kimi K2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)94.8 | Margin← 78.7 | Kimi K216.1 |
| Agentic | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)63.8 | MarginNo overlap | Kimi K2Not measured |
| Coding | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)68.8 | MarginNo overlap | Kimi K2Not measured |
| Knowledge | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)55.3 | MarginNo overlap | Kimi K2Not measured |
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Kimi K2 | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)$0.14 input / $0.28 output | Kimi K2$0.6 input / $2.5 output | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not available | Kimi K243 tok/s | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)Not available | Kimi K21.51 s | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max)1M | Kimi K2128K | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) lists the larger context window. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic15 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Kimi K2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 56.9% | — | Not comparable |
| BrowseCompSource | 73.2% | — | Not comparable |
| HLE w/ toolsSource | 45.1% | — | Not comparable |
| MCP AtlasSource | 69% | — | Not comparable |
| GDPval-AASource | 1189 | — | Not comparable |
| ToolathlonSource | 47.8% | — | Not comparable |
| AA Agentic IndexSource | 31.1% | — | Not comparable |
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 95% | 61.1% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| GDPval-AASource | 34.4% | — | Not comparable |
| AA BriefcaseSource | 831 | — | Not comparable |
| AA EnterpriseOps-GymSource | 39.6% | — | Not comparable |
| AA Harvey LABSource | 81.3% | — | Not comparable |
| AA ITBenchSource | 31.5% | — | Not comparable |
| AA Tau3 BankingSource | 22.9% | — | Not comparable |
| terminalBenchHardSource | 35.6% | — | Not comparable |
Coding7 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Kimi K2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| CodeforcesSource | 3052.0 | — | Not comparable |
| SWE-bench VerifiedSource | 79% | — | Not comparable |
| SWE-bench ProSource | 52.6% | — | Not comparable |
| SWE MultilingualSource | 73.3% | — | Not comparable |
| Terminal-Bench 2.0Source | 56.9% | — | Not comparable |
| AA Coding IndexSource | 56.2% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-SciCodeSource | 44.9% | 34.5% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
Reasoning4 benchmarks
Knowledge13 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Kimi K2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| MMLU-ProSource | 86.2% | — | Not comparable |
| SimpleQASource | 34.1% | — | Not comparable |
| Chinese-SimpleQASource | 78.9% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQASource | 88.1% | — | Not comparable |
| GPQA-DSource | 88.1% | — | Not comparable |
| HLESource | 34.8% | — | Not comparable |
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 40.3% | 19.4% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 89.4% | 76.6% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| AA-HLESource | 32.1% | 7.0% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -22.9% | -27.5% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 37.2% | 26.8% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 95.8% | 74.2% | Kimi K2 leads |
| AA Openness IndexSource | 50.0% | — | Not comparable |
MathDeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) wins6 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Kimi K2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMMT Feb 2026Source | 94.8% | — | Not comparable |
| IMOAnswerBenchSource | 88.4% | — | Not comparable |
| ApexSource | 33.0% | — | Not comparable |
| Apex ShortlistSource | 85.7% | — | Not comparable |
| FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source | — | 21.404% | Not comparable |
| FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)Source | — | 0.000% | Not comparable |
Multimodal1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Kimi K2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena WebsiteSource | 1238 | 1080 | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) | Kimi K2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 79.2% | 41.5% | DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) leads |
Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Which is better, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or Kimi K2?
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) and Kimi K2 are tied on the BenchAlign overall score, so the right pick depends on which category matters most for your use case.
Which is better for math, DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) or Kimi K2?
DeepSeek V4 Flash (Max) has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 94.8 versus 16.1. Kimi K2 stays close enough that the answer can still flip depending on your workload.
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