Frequently asked questions
What is Kimi K3?
Kimi K3 is the flagship large language model from Moonshot AI, announced in July 2026. According to Moonshot AI, it packs 2.8 trillion parameters, a 1-million-token context window and native visual understanding — and it ships with open weights, so developers can download, self-host and fine-tune it.
Is Kimi K3 free to use?
Yes. You can chat with K3 for free on kimi.com and the Kimi mobile apps, with usage limits. For developers, the Kimi API is pay-as-you-go — check the pricing page for current rates.
How does Kimi K3 compare to GPT-5.5 and Claude Opus 4.8?
According to Artificial Analysis data as of July 2026, K3 scores in the same tier as GPT-5.5 and Claude Opus 4.8 — while K3 is open-weight, which neither of them is. Benchmark results vary by task and evaluation methodology, so check the linked sources for the latest numbers. We also keep a side-by-side comparison.
How do I use the Kimi K3 API?
Sign up on the Kimi API Platform, create an API key, and call the model name kimi-k3 with any OpenAI-compatible client. You can also access it through OpenRouter if you prefer a unified API.