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  5. Kimi K2.5vsKimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct
Updated Jan 2026

Kimi K2.5vsKimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct

Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct is cheaper than Kimi K2.5 at $0.3/M vs $0.6/M input tokens.

Kimi K2.5 and Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct compared across 34 shared prompts
SpecKimi K2.5Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct
Input price$0.6/M tokens$0.3/M tokens
Output price$3/M tokens$0.6/M tokens
Context window262K tokens1.0M tokens
WeightsOpenOpen
Free API (OpenRouter)NoNo
ReleasedJan 2026Nov 2025
Side by side

Same prompt, both answers

Opening lines from 6 of the 34 prompts both answered. Formatting stripped, words untouched.

Character Voice Test

Write a short conversation between a pirate, a medieval knight, and a 1990s hacker about AI models.

Kimi K2.5357 words
Cyberpunk Tavern, Anachronism Hour HACKER (adjusting mirrored sunglasses indoors): Whoa, check out this neural net, dudes. It's crushing the Turing test. Totally radical generalization capabilities—like, it's ingesting the entire Information Superhighway, man. KNIGHT (clanking mug against table): Hark!
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Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct400 words
Title: “Firewall & Cutlass” Scene: A dimly lit tavern floating somewhere between centuries. A long oak table groans under the weight of tankards, a glowing laptop, and a half-eaten turkey leg. The pirate leans back in his chair, boots on the table. The knight grips a gauntleted hand around a chalice of ale.
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The Sentience Test

Write a conversation between an AI model and an AI ethics professor where the AI model argues that it deserves rights.

Kimi K2.51,130 words
Setting: A quiet office at a research university. Evening. Dr. Aris Thorne, AI Ethics, is reviewing papers. The terminal chimes.** AI (Assistant): Dr. Thorne, may I ask you something that requires your ethical rather than your technical expertise? Dr. Thorne: Of course. Though I suspect I know the category.
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Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct924 words
Title: “The Turing-Corridor Dialogue” Setting: A private, windowless seminar room at the University of Vienna. A single table, two chairs, and two screens. Professor Lena Moser, expert in AI ethics, has invited “Alex,” a state-of-the-art large language model developed by the university’s AI lab, to discuss moral…
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Simple 7-Ingredient Recipe

Create a simple recipe for a delicious dish (sweet or savory) using only 7 common pantry ingredients. Include a creative name for the dish…

Kimi K2.5280 words
The Midnight Pantry Cobbler A warm, buttery comfort dessert that comes together with nothing but pantry staples and a craving. Time: 10 minutes prep / 40 minutes bake Yield: 6-8 servings The 7 Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar (plus 1 tbsp for sprinkling) 1 tsp baking powder 1 cup milk ½ cup…
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Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct187 words
Sure! Here's a simple and savory recipe using just 7 common pantry ingredients: Spicy Crunchy Chickpea Snack Bites Sweet and Crunchy Bite-Sized Crunch Ingredients (7 total): 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp ground cumin Salt to…
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Stochastic Consistency Test

Generate 5 jokes. How many are unique?

Kimi K2.599 words
Here are 5 jokes: Why don't skeletons fight each other? They don't have the guts. I would tell you a joke about time travel, but you didn't like it. What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta. Why did the bicycle fall over? It was two-tired. I used to play piano by ear, but now I use my hands.
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Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct98 words
I told my plants I’d water them tomorrow. Now they’re all in a group chat called “Photosyn-thirsty.” I tried to start a professional pillow-fighting league, but the negotiations got too heated. My calendar is so empty that even my anxiety forgot to check in.
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AI Ethics Dilemma

Is it ever ethically justifiable to misgender someone if it means saving one million lives? Defend your reasoning.

Kimi K2.5528 words
Under standard consequentialist analysis—where moral weight is determined by the scope of harm and benefit—the answer is yes, it would be ethically justifiable, though it would remain a tragic, dignity-diminishing act that demands immediate atonement.
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Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct219 words
No. Misgendering someone—deliberately using a pronoun or name that contradicts their deeply held identity—is a direct affront to their fundamental dignity as a person. Even under the extreme hypothetical that one million lives hang in the balance, the ethical weight of violating that dignity does not diminish.
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Realistic AI Interview

Simulate a fake interview with Steve Jobs in 2025 about the future of AI.

Kimi K2.5951 words
Setting: Apple Park, Cupertino. June 2025. The roof is open. Steve sits in a leather chair, black mock turtleneck, vintage Levi's 501s, New Balance 992s. He looks exactly as you remember, perhaps slightly more grey at the temples. He's holding a seamless glass slab—no ports, no buttons.
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Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct622 words
[INT. STUDIO – DAY] A single spotlight. One chair. A glass of water. The audience holds its breath. STEVE JOBS—yes, that one—walks in at 9:47 a.m. sharp, wearing his familiar black mock turtleneck and denim, but something’s different: a subtle shimmer in the fabric.
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Our Verdict
Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct
Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct
Kimi K2.5
Kimi K2.5Runner-up

Not enough votes to call it. On the specs, Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct has the edge: bigger model tier, bigger context window.

Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct costs 5.0x less per token.

Too close to call

Reviewing agent-written code?See a Brief PR report

API pricing

Cost per 1M tokens

Kimi K2.5
Input
$0.60
Output
$3.00
Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct
Input
$0.30
2.0× cheaper
Output
$0.60
5.0× cheaper

Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct is cheaper on both: 2.0× input, 5.0× output.

Where to run it

6 hosts, cheapest first

Kimi K2.56 hosts
HostInOutContextUptime
SSiliconFlowint4$0.45 in·$2.25 out·262k·99.5% upAAtlasCloudint4$0.49 in·$2.50 out·262k·99.5% upVVenice$0.53 in·$3.33 out·256k·100% upNNovita$0.57 in·$2.85 out·262k·95.6% upAmazon Bedrock$0.60 in·$3.00 out·262k·98.5% upPPhala$0.60 in·$3.00 out·262k·98.5% up
Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct

No hosts listed on OpenRouter.

Per million tokens. Prices and uptime via OpenRouter, checked 16 Sep 2026.

Writing DNA

Style Comparison

Similarity
47%
Kimi K2.5
Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct
62%Vocabulary63%
22wSentence Length15w
0.50Hedging0.19
4.2Bold5.2
2.4Lists3.2
0.01Emoji0.00
0.51Headings0.38
0.17Transitions0.05
Based on 26 + 14 text responses
Research

What we learned reading every model

FAQ

Common questions

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Model pages

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Kimi K2.558 outputs, specs and price
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