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DeepSeek-V3.1 vs Kimi K2 Instruct

DeepSeek · released

Wins 4 of 6 areas

Coding · Reasoning · Facts · Long documents

Moonshot · released

Wins 1 of 6 areas

Following instructions

DeepSeek-V3.1 is the stronger all-rounder.Kimi K2 Instruct is better at following instructions.

Scores updated · 34 tests both models report · How we compare

Where each one wins

Tests won in each of the six areas where both have results. Each piece is one test, so a longer bar means more evidence; grey means the two scored within a point of each other.

Long documents rests on a single test.

What it costs

Prices per million tokens, roughly 750,000 words. The bars show the cost of a million tokens read plus a million written.

DeepSeek-V3.1$0.56 to read · $1.68 to write$2.24Price from Artificial Analysis
Kimi K2 Instruct$0.60 to read · $2.50 to write$3.10Price from Artificial Analysis

DeepSeek-V3.1 costs 28% less for the same work.

The biggest differences

The three tests each model wins by the widest margin. Scores are out of 100.

Where DeepSeek-V3.1 pulls ahead

  • Finds hard-to-locate facts by browsing the webBrowseComp+15.9points aheadDeepSeek-V3.130Kimi K2 Instruct14.1
  • Code for real scientific research problemsSciCode+8.4points aheadDeepSeek-V3.139.1Kimi K2 Instruct30.7
  • Very hard expert questions across many subjectsHumanity's Last Exam+7.9points aheadDeepSeek-V3.114.3Kimi K2 Instruct6.4

Where Kimi K2 Instruct pulls ahead

  • Avoids making up answers it doesn't knowAA-Omniscience · Non-hallucination+12.8points aheadKimi K2 Instruct30.3DeepSeek-V3.117.5
  • Real work tasks from 44 professionsGDPVal+12.6points aheadKimi K2 Instruct18.2DeepSeek-V3.15.6
  • Keeps track of context across a multi-turn chatMulti-Challenge+8points aheadKimi K2 Instruct54.1DeepSeek-V3.146.1

Every test, side by side

All 34 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.

CodingDeepSeek-V3.1

Full coding ranking

AgentsEven
  • BrowseCompDeepSeek-V3.1 by 15.93014.1+15.9
  • GDPValKimi K2 Instruct by 12.65.618.2+12.6

Full agents ranking

ReasoningDeepSeek-V3.1

Full reasoning ranking

FactsDeepSeek-V3.1

Full facts ranking

Long documentsDeepSeek-V3.1
  • AA-LCRDeepSeek-V3.1 by 3.756.753+3.7

Full long documents ranking

Following instructionsKimi K2 Instruct

Full following instructions ranking

Other results19 tests, not counted

Tests outside the eight areas. They are not counted above: several are summary scores built from other tests, or the same test under another name.

Questions people ask

Which is better, DeepSeek-V3.1 or Kimi K2 Instruct?

DeepSeek-V3.1 wins four of the six areas where both have results: coding, reasoning, facts and long documents. Kimi K2 Instruct wins following instructions. They are level on agents.

Which is better for coding?

DeepSeek-V3.1. It wins 3 of the 4 coding tests both models report; Kimi K2 Instruct wins none, and 1 is a tie.

Which is cheaper?

DeepSeek-V3.1 costs $0.56 per million input tokens and $1.68 per million output tokens; Kimi K2 Instruct costs $0.60 and $2.50. That makes DeepSeek-V3.1 about 28% cheaper for the same work.

How do you compare the two?

We use the 34 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 15 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 19 are listed but not counted, because several are summary scores or repeat a test. Each score is the one shown on the model's own page.

Compare Kimi K2 Instruct with

Moonshot

Across the field

All comparisons