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Model A
Kimi K2

Moonshot AI

26.2/100

Supported · Public rank #207

90% interval 15.8–36.6

Kimi K2 vs Qwen3.5 Plus

Updated August 13, 2026. Public scores include evidence status and uncertainty. They are not guarantees for a specific workload.

Model B
Qwen3.5 Plus

Alibaba

46.7/100

Estimated · Public rank #147

90% interval 32.8–60.7

Decision reading

Qwen3.5 Plus has the higher public score estimate, 46.73 versus 26.18, but the 90% score intervals overlap. Treat that as a lead, not a settled winner.

2 results are shared. Category rows based on different benchmark sets are marked directional and do not name a winner.

Which one for your work

Recommendations appear only when a shared evidence basis or an explicit operating constraint supports the call. Secondary and unsupported use cases stay disclosed below the initial list.

  • Long documents

    Prompts that approach the documented context limit

    Qwen3.5 Plus

    Qwen3.5 Plus has the larger documented context window.

    Confidence: documented

  • Chat turn cost

    1K fresh input + 500 output tokens

    Qwen3.5 Plus

    Qwen3.5 Plus has the lower estimated token cost for this stated workload. Costs use the listed standard API rates.

    Confidence: listed-rates

Show secondary and unsupported calls
  • Repository review cost

    50K fresh input + 3K output tokens

    Qwen3.5 Plus

    Qwen3.5 Plus has the lower estimated token cost for this stated workload. Costs use the listed standard API rates.

    Confidence: listed-rates

  • Coding work

    Code generation, repair, and software-engineering tasks

    Not enough matched evidence

    No shared weighted benchmark basis supports a winner.

    Confidence: limited

  • Agentic work

    Tool use, computer use, and multi-step task completion

    Not enough matched evidence

    No shared weighted benchmark basis supports a winner.

    Confidence: limited

  • Cache-heavy agent loop cost

    200K cached + 20K fresh input + 10K output tokens

    Not enough matched evidence

    The page does not recommend a cost winner because at least one model cannot fit the stated workload in one request. Kimi K2 does not fit this workload in one request. Kimi K2 has no published cached-input rate, so cached tokens use its listed input rate. Qwen3.5 Plus has no published cached-input rate, so cached tokens use its listed input rate.

    Confidence: rate-fallback

What is actually comparable

Shared results can support a head-to-head reading. Results present for only one model describe coverage, not superiority.

Shared results
2
Kimi K2 only
0
Qwen3.5 Plus only
2
Like-for-like categories
1 / 8

Category results, on a stated basis

Each row states whether both averages use the same weighted benchmark set. Directional and not-comparable rows remain visible, but they never receive a winner in this template.

Math

Like-for-like
Kimi K2
16.1
Qwen3.5 Plus
16.3
Weighted basis
2 vs 2 rows
Reading
Qwen3.5 Plus leads

Agentic

Not comparable
Kimi K2
Not measured
Qwen3.5 Plus
Not measured
Weighted basis
0 vs 0 rows
Reading
Not comparable

Coding

Not comparable
Kimi K2
Not measured
Qwen3.5 Plus
Not measured
Weighted basis
0 vs 0 rows
Reading
Not comparable

Reasoning

Not comparable
Kimi K2
Not measured
Qwen3.5 Plus
Not measured
Weighted basis
0 vs 0 rows
Reading
Not comparable

Knowledge

Not comparable
Kimi K2
Not measured
Qwen3.5 Plus
Not measured
Weighted basis
0 vs 0 rows
Reading
Not comparable

Multilingual

Not comparable
Kimi K2
Not measured
Qwen3.5 Plus
Not measured
Weighted basis
0 vs 0 rows
Reading
Not comparable

Multimodal

Not comparable
Kimi K2
Not measured
Qwen3.5 Plus
Not measured
Weighted basis
0 vs 0 rows
Reading
Not comparable

Instruction following

Not comparable
Kimi K2
Not measured
Qwen3.5 Plus
Not measured
Weighted basis
0 vs 0 rows
Reading
Not comparable

Shape of the matched evidence

Only shared public evidence is shown. Sparse evidence stays a ruled list rather than being closed into a radar shape.

Too few matched category axes support a radar. The ruled list below shows only shared benchmark results; positions use each benchmark’s normalized display scale when available.

  • FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)

    Math

    Kimi K2: 0.000%Qwen3.5 Plus: 2.083%Normalized gap 2.1Shared source
  • FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)

    Math

    Kimi K2: 21.404%Qwen3.5 Plus: 21.034%Normalized gap 0.4Shared source

What each workload costs

Three fixed token mixes turn per-token rates into comparable decisions. Each scenario states context fit and whether cached input had to fall back to the published list-input rate.

Chat turn

1K fresh input + 500 output tokens

Kimi K2
$0.00185
Fits in one request
Qwen3.5 Plus
$0.0016
Fits in one request

Qwen3.5 Plus has the lower modeled cost

Costs use the listed standard API rates.

Repository review

50K fresh input + 3K output tokens

Kimi K2
$0.0375
Fits in one request
Qwen3.5 Plus
$0.0272
Fits in one request

Qwen3.5 Plus has the lower modeled cost

Costs use the listed standard API rates.

Cache-heavy agent loop

200K cached + 20K fresh input + 10K output tokens

Kimi K2
$0.157
Does not fit in one request
Cached input priced at the published list-input rate
Qwen3.5 Plus
$0.112
Fits in one request
Cached input priced at the published list-input rate

Kimi K2 does not fit this workload in one request. Kimi K2 has no published cached-input rate, so cached tokens use its listed input rate. Qwen3.5 Plus has no published cached-input rate, so cached tokens use its listed input rate.

Specification differences

Sourced differences are shown directly. Missing facts stay explicit instead of being inferred from a model name or family.

Context window

Maximum documented context; output-token limits may be lower.

Kimi K2

128K

Qwen3.5 Plus

1M

API model ID

Kimi K2

Not sourced

Qwen3.5 Plus

Not sourced

Cached-input rate

A missing cached-input rate falls back to the listed input rate only in the stated workload estimate.

Kimi K2

Not published

Qwen3.5 Plus

Not published

Documented inputs

Kimi K2

Not sourced

Qwen3.5 Plus

Not sourced

Documented outputs

Kimi K2

Not sourced

Qwen3.5 Plus

Not sourced

Provider availability

Kimi K2

Not sourced

Qwen3.5 Plus

Not sourced

Reasoning profile

Kimi K2

Non-Reasoning

Qwen3.5 Plus

Reasoning

Weight access

Kimi K2

Proprietary

Qwen3.5 Plus

Proprietary

License

Kimi K2

Proprietary

Qwen3.5 Plus

Proprietary

Release date

Kimi K2

2025-07-01

Qwen3.5 Plus

2026-03-04

If you already use one of these models
Deployment change
The models list different providers, so authentication, endpoint behavior, limits, and feature support may change.
Quality signal
Qwen3.5 Plus has the higher public score estimate, 46.73 versus 26.18, but the 90% score intervals overlap.
Workload cost
Repository review: $0.0375 vs $0.0272. Cache-heavy agent loop: $0.157 vs $0.112.
Context tradeoff
Qwen3.5 Plus has the larger documented window (1M).

Run the same representative tasks against both endpoints before changing production traffic.

Benchmark evidence

The full public result ledger is available for audit without forcing a wide desktop table onto a phone.

Browse raw public benchmark evidence4 rows

Agentic

  • JobBench

    Kimi K2
    Qwen3.5 Plus18.5%
    Source

    Not directly comparable

Coding

  • Vibe Code Bench

    Kimi K2
    Qwen3.5 Plus15.74%
    Source

    Not directly comparable

Math

  • FrontierMath v2 (Tiers 1-3)

    Shared source
    Kimi K221.404%
    Qwen3.5 Plus21.034%

    Kimi K2 leads this result

  • FrontierMath v2 (Tier 4)

    Shared source
    Kimi K20.000%
    Qwen3.5 Plus2.083%

    Qwen3.5 Plus leads this result

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, Kimi K2 or Qwen3.5 Plus?

Qwen3.5 Plus has the higher public score estimate, 46.73 versus 26.18, but the 90% score intervals overlap. The higher estimate is not a decisive winner because the uncertainty ranges overlap.

Which is better for coding, Kimi K2 or Qwen3.5 Plus?

The published evidence does not provide a shared weighted coding basis for both models, so BenchLM does not name a coding winner.

Which is better for agentic tasks, Kimi K2 or Qwen3.5 Plus?

The published evidence does not provide a shared weighted agentic tasks basis for both models, so BenchLM does not name a agentic tasks winner.

Which costs less, Kimi K2 or Qwen3.5 Plus?

For the stated presets, chat costs $0.00185 on Kimi K2 and $0.0016 on Qwen3.5 Plus; repository review costs $0.0375 and $0.0272; the cache-heavy agent loop costs $0.157 and $0.112. Kimi K2 does not fit this workload in one request. Kimi K2 has no published cached-input rate, so cached tokens use its listed input rate. Qwen3.5 Plus has no published cached-input rate, so cached tokens use its listed input rate.

Which has the larger context window, Kimi K2 or Qwen3.5 Plus?

Qwen3.5 Plus has the larger documented context window: 1M, compared with 128K.

Related comparisons

Last updated August 13, 2026

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