Model comparison
Kimi K2 vs Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning)
Head-to-head evidence from 2 shared benchmark results across 1 category. Overall scores shown here use the public BenchAlign v5 ranking lane.
Public leaderboard positions: Kimi K2 #189 (Supported); Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) #66 (Estimated). Intervals and evidence labels describe ranking uncertainty, not a guarantee for a specific workload.
Evidence parity. Kimi K2 and Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) share 2 comparable benchmark results. 1 of 8 categories are comparable. 12 results are unique to Kimi K2; 0 to Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning).
Updated July 20, 2026- Shared results
- 2
- Kimi K2 only
- 12
- Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) only
- 0
- Comparable categories
- 1 / 8
Pick Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) if you want the stronger benchmark profile. Kimi K2 only becomes the better choice if mathematics is the priority or you would rather avoid the extra latency and token burn of a reasoning model.
Confidence note. This is a partial-evidence comparison with 2 shared benchmark results across 1 evidence category; 1 of 8 categories currently have scoreable aggregates for both models. Treat the verdict as directional until coverage is more balanced.
Why this result
Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) is clearly ahead on the BenchAlign aggregate, 58.01 to 27.19. The gap is large enough that you do not need to squint at the spreadsheet to see the difference.
Kimi K2 is also the more expensive model on tokens at $0.60 input / $2.50 output per 1M tokens, versus $0.00 input / $0.00 output per 1M tokens for Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning). That is roughly Infinityx on output cost alone. Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) 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.
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 | Kimi K2 | Δ | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math | Kimi K216.1 | Margin← 9.7 | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning)6.4 |
Decisive benchmark drivers
The largest measured benchmark gaps in this matchup, with exact reported values.
More
- Source ↗
FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)
MathA 21.404%B 8.481%Winner: Kimi K2Δ 12.9FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3): Kimi K2 scored 21.404%; Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) scored 8.481%. Kimi K2 wins this benchmark.
Operational comparison
Runtime and commercial metrics are compared only when both models have a complete sourced value.
| Metric | Kimi K2 | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| Input / output priceUSD per 1M tokens | Kimi K2$0.6 input / $2.5 output | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning)$0 input / $0 output | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) has the lower combined listed price. |
| Generation speedtokens per second | Kimi K243 tok/s | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning)Not available | A complete speed comparison is not available. |
| First-answer latencyseconds to first token | Kimi K21.51 s | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning)Not available | A complete latency comparison is not available. |
| Context windowmaximum listed tokens | Kimi K2128K | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning)128K | Listed context windows are equal. |
Benchmark Deep Dive
Agentic1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Kimi K2 | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| τ²-bench resultsSource | 61.1% | — | Not comparable |
Coding1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Kimi K2 | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-SciCodeSource | 34.5% | — | Not comparable |
Reasoning2 benchmarks
Knowledge6 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Kimi K2 | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial Analysis Intelligence IndexSource | 19.4% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-GPQA DiamondSource | 76.6% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-HLESource | 7.0% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience IndexSource | -27.5% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience AccuracySource | 26.8% | — | Not comparable |
| AA-Omniscience Hallucination RateSource | 74.2% | — | Not comparable |
MathKimi K2 wins2 benchmarks
Multimodal1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Kimi K2 | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design Arena WebsiteSource | 1083 | — | Not comparable |
Inst. Following1 benchmarks
| Benchmark | Kimi K2 | Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AA-IFBenchSource | 41.5% | — | Not comparable |
Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Which is better, Kimi K2 or Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning)?
Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning) is ahead on BenchLM's BenchAlign leaderboard, 58.01 to 27.19. The biggest single separator in this matchup is FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3), where the scores are 21.404% and 8.481%.
Which is better for math, Kimi K2 or Qwen3 235B 2507 (Reasoning)?
Kimi K2 has the edge for math in this comparison, averaging 16.1 versus 6.4. Inside this category, FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3) is the benchmark that creates the most daylight between them.
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