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Model comparison

GPT-5.1 vs Kimi K2.6

Data verified

Head-to-head evidence from 22 shared benchmark results across 7 categories. Overall scores shown here use BenchLM's provisional ranking lane.

OpenAI
73/100
Margin
1.0pts
winning →
Moonshot AI
74/100
0 category wins1 category wins

Verified leaderboard positions: GPT-5.1 unranked; Kimi K2.6 #13

Evidence parity. GPT-5.1 and Kimi K2.6 share 22 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 0 results are unique to GPT-5.1; 38 to Kimi K2.6.

Updated July 13, 2026
Shared results
22
GPT-5.1 only
0
Kimi K2.6 only
38
Comparable categories
1 / 8

Pick Kimi K2.6 if you want the stronger benchmark profile. GPT-5.1 only becomes the better choice if its workflow or ecosystem matters more than the raw scoreboard.

Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 22 shared benchmark results across 7 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

Kimi K2.6 finishes one point ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 74 to 73. That is enough to call, but not enough to treat as a blowout. This matchup comes down to a few meaningful edges rather than one model dominating the board.

Kimi K2.6's sharpest advantage is in mathematics, where it averages 67.1 against 26.4. The single biggest benchmark swing on the page is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), 31.034% to 38.966%.

GPT-5.1 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $1.25 input / $10.00 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.95 input / $4.00 output per 1M tokens for Kimi K2.6. That is roughly 2.5x on output cost alone. Kimi K2.6 gives you the larger context window at 256K, compared with 200K for GPT-5.1.

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-5.1 and Kimi K2.6
CategoryGPT-5.1ΔKimi K2.6
MathGPT-5.126.4Margin 40.7Kimi K2.667.1
AgenticGPT-5.1Not measuredMarginNo overlapKimi K2.673.5
CodingGPT-5.1Not measuredMarginNo overlapKimi K2.672.6
KnowledgeGPT-5.1Not measuredMarginNo overlapKimi K2.642.2
MultimodalGPT-5.1Not measuredMarginNo overlapKimi K2.679.8

Decisive benchmark drivers

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

More
A · GPT-5.1B · Kimi K2.6
  1. FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)

    Math
    Source ↗
    A 31.034%B 38.966%
    Winner: Kimi K2.6Δ 7.9
    FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3): GPT-5.1 scored 31.034%; Kimi K2.6 scored 38.966%. Kimi K2.6 wins this benchmark.
  2. FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)

    Math
    Source ↗
    A 12.500%B 14.580%
    Winner: Kimi K2.6Δ 2.1
    FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4): GPT-5.1 scored 12.500%; Kimi K2.6 scored 14.580%. Kimi K2.6 wins this benchmark.

Operational comparison

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

MetricGPT-5.1Kimi K2.6Comparison
Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokensGPT-5.1$1.25 input / $10 outputKimi K2.6$0.95 input / $4 outputKimi K2.6 has the lower combined listed price.
Generation speedtokens per secondGPT-5.1111 tok/sKimi K2.6Not availableA complete speed comparison is not available.
First-answer latencyseconds to first tokenGPT-5.157.47 sKimi K2.6Not availableA complete latency comparison is not available.
Context windowmaximum listed tokensGPT-5.1200KKimi K2.6256KKimi K2.6 lists the larger context window.

Benchmark Deep Dive

Agentic
BenchmarkGPT-5.1Kimi K2.6Result
AA Agentic IndexSource 21.0%30.3%Kimi K2.6 leads
Tau2-TelecomSource 81.9%95.9%Kimi K2.6 leads
Gert LabsSource 41.24%56.82%Kimi K2.6 leads
GDPval-AASource 24.4%34.5%Kimi K2.6 leads
GDPval-AASource 9881190Kimi K2.6 leads
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 66.7%Not comparable
BrowseCompSource 83.2%Not comparable
OSWorld-VerifiedSource 73.1%Not comparable
ToolathlonSource 50%Not comparable
MCP AtlasSource 55.9%Not comparable
Claw-EvalSource 62.3%Not comparable
DeepSearchQASource 92.5%Not comparable
WideResearchSource 80.8%Not comparable
APEX-Agents-AASource 28.5%Not comparable
ResearchClawBenchSource 18.0%Not comparable
OSWorld 2.0Source 4.6%Not comparable
AA BriefcaseSource 809Not comparable
AA AutomationBenchSource 19.6%Not comparable
AA EnterpriseOps-GymSource 38.5%Not comparable
AA Harvey LABSource 0.0%Not comparable
AA ITBenchSource 31.2%Not comparable
AA Tau3 BankingSource 20.6%Not comparable
Coding
BenchmarkGPT-5.1Kimi K2.6Result
Vibe Code BenchSource 24.61%37.89%Kimi K2.6 leads
AA Coding IndexSource 49.4%61.8%Kimi K2.6 leads
Terminal-Bench HardSource 45.5%43.9%GPT-5.1 leads
AA-SciCodeSource 43.3%53.5%Kimi K2.6 leads
SWE-bench VerifiedSource 80.2%Not comparable
LiveCodeBenchSource 89.6%Not comparable
LiveCodeBench v6Source 89.6%Not comparable
SWE-bench ProSource 58.6%Not comparable
SWE MultilingualSource 76.7%Not comparable
SciCodeSource 52.2%Not comparable
Terminal-Bench 2.0Source 66.7%Not comparable
cursorBench31Source 47.6%Not comparable
AA Terminal-Bench 2.1Source 65.9%Not comparable
Reasoning
BenchmarkGPT-5.1Kimi K2.6Result
AA-LCRSource 75.0%69.7%GPT-5.1 leads
CritPtSource 4.9%8.0%Kimi K2.6 leads
Knowledge
BenchmarkGPT-5.1Kimi K2.6Result
Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource 36.9%44.2%Kimi K2.6 leads
AA-GPQA DiamondSource 87.3%91.1%Kimi K2.6 leads
AA-HLESource 26.5%35.9%Kimi K2.6 leads
AA-Omniscience IndexSource 5.6%6.4%Kimi K2.6 leads
AA-Omniscience AccuracySource 37.6%32.8%GPT-5.1 leads
AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource 51.3%39.3%Kimi K2.6 leads
GPQASource 90.5%Not comparable
GPQA-DSource 90.5%Not comparable
HLESource 34.7%Not comparable
AA Openness IndexSource 33.3%Not comparable
MathKimi K2.6 wins
BenchmarkGPT-5.1Kimi K2.6Result
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)Source 31.034%38.966%Kimi K2.6 leads
FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)Source 12.500%14.580%Kimi K2.6 leads
AIME26Source 96.4%Not comparable
HMMT Feb 2026Source 92.7%Not comparable
MMAnswerBenchSource 86.0%Not comparable
Multimodal
BenchmarkGPT-5.1Kimi K2.6Result
AA-MMMU-ProSource 75.5%79.4%Kimi K2.6 leads
Design Arena WebsiteSource 12301318Kimi K2.6 leads
MMMU-ProSource 79.4%Not comparable
MMMU-Pro w/ PythonSource 80.1%Not comparable
CharXivSource 80.4%Not comparable
MathVisionSource 87.4%Not comparable
V*Source 96.9%Not comparable
Inst. Following
BenchmarkGPT-5.1Kimi K2.6Result
AA-IFBenchSource 72.9%76.0%Kimi K2.6 leads
Frequently Asked Questions (2)

Which is better, GPT-5.1 or Kimi K2.6?

Kimi K2.6 is ahead on BenchLM's provisional leaderboard, 74 to 73. The biggest single separator in this matchup is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), where the scores are 31.034% and 38.966%.

Which is better for math, GPT-5.1 or Kimi K2.6?

Kimi K2.6 has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 67.1 versus 26.4. Inside this category, FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3) 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-5.1
API / mo$8,438
Self-host / moNot listed
Break-even
Proprietary model — self-hosting not applicable.
Kimi K2.6
API / mo$3,713
Self-host / mo$18,221
Break-even326M/day
Model the full break-even

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Last updated: July 13, 2026

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