Kimi K2.6vsNemotron 3.5 Lightning
Kimi K2.6 | Nemotron 3.5 Lightning | |
|---|---|---|
| Specifications | ||
ParametersA rough measure of how big the model is. More parameters usually means more capable and more expensive to run, though it is a poor guide on its own — a smaller, newer model often beats a larger, older one. | 1T | 30B |
Context windowHow much text the model can hold in mind at once — your question, any documents you attach, the conversation so far, and its own reply. Go past it and the earliest part falls out of view. | 256k | 1M |
| API pricingUSD per 1M tokens · lower wins | ||
Input priceWhat you pay for everything you send the model — your question, plus any documents or earlier conversation you include with it. | $0.95 | — |
Output priceWhat you pay for the text the model writes back. It is normally the dearer half: producing an answer costs more than reading one. | $4.00 | — |
Cached input priceA reduced rate for text you send over and over. If every request starts with the same instructions or the same document, the provider keeps a copy ready and charges less to read it again. | $0.16 | — |
Cheapest inputLowest input rate across third-party providers, excluding the lab itself. The cheapest endpoint may run a quantised build or a shorter context — see "Available from" on the model page. | $0.5684Decart | — |
Cheapest outputLowest output rate across third-party providers, excluding the lab itself. May come from a different provider than the cheapest input. | $2.52StreamLake | — |
| Benchmarks | ||
SWE-Bench VerifiedCoding — Real coding tasks pulled from open-source projects — the AI has to find and fix actual bugs. A human-checked version of the original SWE-Bench. Higher is better. | 80.2% | 51.6% |
GPQA DiamondScience — Graduate-level science questions in biology, physics, and chemistry — hard enough that subject-matter PhDs score around 65%. Higher is better. | 90.5% | 75.4% |
| BenchmarksPublished by one model only | ||
BullshitBench v2Nonsense detection — Given a confidently-worded but nonsensical prompt, does the AI spot that it makes no sense and push back — instead of playing along and inventing an answer? The score is how often it clearly called out the nonsense. Higher is better. | 65% | — |
Next.js EvalsNext.js coding — Vercel's open eval of how well AI coding agents build and migrate real Next.js apps — measured as the share of tasks the agent completes successfully. Higher is better. | 67% | — |
LiveCodeBenchCompetitive coding — Coding problems published so recently the AI can't have seen them in training — a contamination-free test of raw programming skill. Higher is better. | 89.6% | — |
| Overview | ||
| Company | Moonshot AI | NVIDIA |
| Release date | Apr 21 2026 | Aug 11 2026 |
| Access | Open Weight | Open Source |
Other comparisons
Frequently asked questions
Kimi K2.6 leads Nemotron 3.5 Lightning on 2 of the 2 benchmarks they both report (SWE-Bench Verified, GPQA Diamond). Only Kimi K2.6 has a verified first-party API price: $0.95 per million input tokens and $4.00 per million output tokens. No pay-as-you-go API rate is tracked for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning. Kimi K2.6 shipped 112 days before Nemotron 3.5 Lightning, so benchmark comparisons should account for the intervening progress.
Kimi K2.6 has 1T parameters, while Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has 30B. Context windows are 256k (Kimi K2.6) vs 1M (Nemotron 3.5 Lightning). Kimi K2.6 is open weight, while Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is open source.
On SWE-Bench Verified, Kimi K2.6 leads at 80.2% vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning at 51.6%. On GPQA Diamond, Kimi K2.6 leads at 90.5% vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning at 75.4%.
Kimi K2.6 was released by Moonshot AI on Apr 21 2026.
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning was released by NVIDIA on Aug 11 2026.
Kimi K2.6 leads on SWE-Bench Verified — Kimi K2.6 80.2% vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 51.6%.
Kimi K2.6 leads on GPQA Diamond — Kimi K2.6 90.5% vs Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 75.4%.
Only Kimi K2.6 has a verified first-party API price: $0.95 per million input tokens and $4.00 per million output tokens. No pay-as-you-go API rate is tracked for Nemotron 3.5 Lightning. Rates are pay-as-you-go API prices verified on August 18, 2026.
Kimi K2.6 has a 256k context window; Nemotron 3.5 Lightning has 1M.
Kimi K2.6 is an open weight model released by Moonshot AI. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is an open source model released by NVIDIA.