Kimi LinearvsQwen3-Max
Kimi Linear | Qwen3-Max | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | 48B | 1T |
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 |
| API pricingUSD per 1M tokens · lower wins · base tier | ||
Input priceWhat you pay for everything you send the model — your question, plus any documents or earlier conversation you include with it. | — | $1.20 |
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. | — | $6.00 |
| Overview | ||
| Company | Moonshot AI | Qwen |
| Release date | Oct 30 2025 | Sep 24 2025 |
| Access | Open Weight | Proprietary |
Other comparisons
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Frequently asked questions
Kimi Linear and Qwen3-Max don't publish scores on any of the same benchmarks, so there's no direct head-to-head comparison. Only Qwen3-Max has a verified first-party API price: $1.20 per million input tokens and $6.00 per million output tokens. No pay-as-you-go API rate is tracked for Kimi Linear. Qwen3-Max shipped 36 days before Kimi Linear, so benchmark comparisons should account for the intervening progress.
Kimi Linear has 48B parameters, while Qwen3-Max has 1T. Kimi Linear is open weight, while Qwen3-Max is proprietary.
Direct benchmark comparisons are unavailable — Kimi Linear and Qwen3-Max don't publish scores on any of the same benchmarks.