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Model comparison

GPT-4.1 vs Kimi K2.5

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 19 shared benchmark results across 7 categories. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.

GPT-4.1
OpenAI
50.39/100
Margin
8.4pts
winning →
Kimi K2.5
Moonshot AI
58.78/100
1 category wins3 category wins

Public leaderboard positions: GPT-4.1 #111 (Supported); Kimi K2.5 #60 (Supported). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.

Evidence parity. GPT-4.1 and Kimi K2.5 share 19 comparable benchmark results. 4 of 8 categories are comparable. 1 result is unique to GPT-4.1; 44 to Kimi K2.5.

Updated July 28, 2026
Shared results
19
GPT-4.1 only
1
Kimi K2.5 only
44
Comparable categories
4 / 8

Pick Kimi K2.5 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-4.1 only becomes the better choice if knowledge is the priority or you need the larger 1M context window.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 19 shared benchmark results across 7 evidence categories; 4 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.

Why this result

Kimi K2.5 is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 58.78 to 50.39. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.

Kimi K2.5's sharpest advantage is in mathematics, where it averages 60.6 against 4.1. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), 5.517% to 27.900%. GPT-4.1 does hit back in knowledge, so the answer changes if that is the part of the workload you care about most.

GPT-4.1 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $2.00 input / $8.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.60 input / $3.00 output per 1M tokens for Kimi K2.5. That is roughly 2.7x on output cost alone. GPT-4.1 gives you the larger context window at 1M, compared with 256K for Kimi K2.5.

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 GPT-4.1 and Kimi K2.5
CategoryGPT-4.1ΔKimi K2.5
MathGPT-4.14.1Margin→ 56.5Kimi K2.560.6
KnowledgeGPT-4.166.3Margin← 9.4Kimi K2.556.9
Inst. FollowingGPT-4.187.4Margin→ 6.5Kimi K2.593.9
CodingGPT-4.154.6Margin→ 4.8Kimi K2.559.4
AgenticGPT-4.1Not measuredMarginNo overlapKimi K2.555.0
ReasoningGPT-4.1Not measuredMarginNo overlapKimi K2.561.0
MultilingualGPT-4.1Not measuredMarginNo overlapKimi K2.582.3
MultimodalGPT-4.1Not measuredMarginNo overlapKimi K2.578.5

Decisive benchmark drivers

The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.

More
A · GPT-4.1B · Kimi K2.5

  1. FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)

    Math
    Source ↗
    A 5.517%B 27.900%
    Winner: Kimi K2.5Δ 22.4
    FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3): GPT-4.1 scored 5.517%; Kimi K2.5 scored 27.900%. Kimi K2.5 wins this benchmark.

  2. SWE-bench Verified

    Coding
    Source ↗
    A 54.6%B 76.8%
    Winner: Kimi K2.5Δ 22.2
    SWE-bench Verified: GPT-4.1 scored 54.6%; Kimi K2.5 scored 76.8%. Kimi K2.5 wins this benchmark.

  3. GPQA

    Knowledge
    Source ↗
    A 66.3%B 87.6%
    Winner: Kimi K2.5Δ 21.3
    GPQA: GPT-4.1 scored 66.3%; Kimi K2.5 scored 87.6%. Kimi K2.5 wins this benchmark.

  4. IFEval

    Inst. Following
    Source ↗
    A 87.4%B 93.9%
    Winner: Kimi K2.5Δ 6.5
    IFEval: GPT-4.1 scored 87.4%; Kimi K2.5 scored 93.9%. Kimi K2.5 wins this benchmark.

  5. FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)

    Math
    Source ↗
    A 0.000%B 4.200%
    Winner: Kimi K2.5Δ 4.2
    FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4): GPT-4.1 scored 0.000%; Kimi K2.5 scored 4.200%. Kimi K2.5 wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

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

MetricGPT-4.1Kimi K2.5Comparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensGPT-4.1$2 input / $8 outputKimi K2.5$0.6 input / $3 outputKimi K2.5 has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondGPT-4.1108 tok/sKimi K2.545 tok/sGPT-4.1 has the higher measured throughput.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenGPT-4.11.02 sKimi K2.52.38 sGPT-4.1 reaches the first token sooner.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensGPT-4.11MKimi K2.5256KGPT-4.1 lists the larger context window.

Benchmark Deep Dive

Agentic
BenchmarkGPT-4.1Kimi K2.5Result
τ²-bench resultsSource 47.1%95.9%Kimi K2.5 leads
Gert LabsSource 25.65%45.88%Kimi K2.5 leads
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source —50.8%Not comparable
BrowseCompSource —60.6%Not comparable
Claw-EvalSource —52.3%Not comparable
QwenClawBenchSource —54.3%Not comparable
τ³-bench resultsSource —65.7%Not comparable
DeepSearchQASource —77.1%Not comparable
DeepPlanningSource —14.4%Not comparable
ToolathlonSource —27.8%Not comparable
MCP AtlasSource —29.5%Not comparable
MCP-TasksSource —59.1%Not comparable
WideResearchSource —72.7%Not comparable
APEX-Agents-AASource —11.5%Not comparable
ResearchClawBenchSource —14.0%Not comparable
JobBenchSource —8.7%Not comparable
AA Agentic IndexSource —21.7%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource —25.1%Not comparable
GDPval-AASource —1003Not comparable
CodingKimi K2.5 wins
BenchmarkGPT-4.1Kimi K2.5Result
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 54.6%76.8%Kimi K2.5 leads
AA-SciCodeSource 38.1%49.0%Kimi K2.5 leads
SWE-bench Verified*Source —70.8%Not comparable
LiveCodeBench v6Source —85.0%Not comparable
SWE-bench ProSource —50.7%Not comparable
SWE MultilingualSource —73%Not comparable
SWE-RebenchSource —58.5%Not comparable
React Native EvalsSource —77.2%Not comparable
SciCodeSource —48.7%Not comparable
AA Coding IndexSource —46.8%Not comparable
Reasoning
BenchmarkGPT-4.1Kimi K2.5Result
AA-LCRSource 61.0%65.3%Kimi K2.5 leads
CritPtSource 0.0%3.1%Kimi K2.5 leads
LongBench v2Source —61%Not comparable
KnowledgeGPT-4.1 wins
BenchmarkGPT-4.1Kimi K2.5Result
MMLUSource 90.2%—Not comparable
GPQASource 66.3%87.6%Kimi K2.5 leads
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 19.4%35.4%Kimi K2.5 leads
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 66.6%87.9%Kimi K2.5 leads
AA-HLESource 4.6%29.4%Kimi K2.5 leads
AA-Omniscience IndexSource -36.2%-8.1%Kimi K2.5 leads
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 24.2%34.3%Kimi K2.5 leads
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 79.6%64.6%Kimi K2.5 leads
GPQA-DSource —87.6%Not comparable
SuperGPQASource —69.2%Not comparable
MMLU-ProSource —87.1%Not comparable
MMLU-Pro (Arcee)Source —87.1%Not comparable
HLESource —30.1%Not comparable
MathKimi K2.5 wins
BenchmarkGPT-4.1Kimi K2.5Result
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source 5.517%27.900%Kimi K2.5 leads
FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)Source 0.000%4.200%Kimi K2.5 leads
AIME 2025Source —96.1%Not comparable
AIME26Source —95.8%Not comparable
AIME25 (Arcee)Source —96.3%Not comparable
HMMT Feb 2025Source —95.4%Not comparable
HMMT Nov 2025Source —91.1%Not comparable
HMMT Feb 2026Source —87.1%Not comparable
MMAnswerBenchSource —81.8%Not comparable
Multilingual
BenchmarkGPT-4.1Kimi K2.5Result
MMLU-ProXSource —82.3%Not comparable
NOVA-63Source —56.0%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkGPT-4.1Kimi K2.5Result
AA-MMMU-ProSource 61.2%75.4%Kimi K2.5 leads
Design Arena WebsiteSource 10631275Kimi K2.5 leads
MMMU-ProSource —78.5%Not comparable
Video-MMESource —87.4%Not comparable
MMVUSource —80.4%Not comparable
VideoMMMUSource —86.6%Not comparable
Inst. FollowingKimi K2.5 wins
BenchmarkGPT-4.1Kimi K2.5Result
IFEvalSource 87.4%93.9%Kimi K2.5 leads
AA-IFBenchSource 43.0%70.2%Kimi K2.5 leads
Frequently Asked Questions (5)

Which is better, GPT-4.1 or Kimi K2.5?

Kimi K2.5 is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 58.78 to 50.39. The biggest single separator in this matchup is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), where the scores are 5.517% and 27.900%.

Which is better for knowledge tasks, GPT-4.1 or Kimi K2.5?

GPT-4.1 has the edge for knowledge tasks in this comparison, averaging 66.3 versus 56.9. Inside this category, AA-Omniscience Index is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for coding, GPT-4.1 or Kimi K2.5?

Kimi K2.5 has the edge for coding in this comparison, averaging 59.4 versus 54.6. Inside this category, SWE-bench Verified is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for math, GPT-4.1 or Kimi K2.5?

Kimi K2.5 has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 60.6 versus 4.1. Inside this category, FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3) is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Which is better for instruction following, GPT-4.1 or Kimi K2.5?

Kimi K2.5 has the edge for instruction following in this comparison, averaging 93.9 versus 87.4. Inside this category, AA-IFBench is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.

Self-host vs API cost

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

GPT-4.1
API / mo$7,500
Self-host / moNot listed
Break-even—
Proprietary model — self-hosting not applicable.
Kimi K2.5
API / mo$2,700
Self-host / mo$5,221
Break-even132M/day
Model the full break-even

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