Kimi K2.6 vs Qwen3.6 27B
Wins 8 of 8 areas
Coding · Agents · Reasoning · Facts · Images and charts · Math · Long documents · Following instructions
Wins 0 of 8 areas
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Kimi K2.6 is the stronger all-rounder.Qwen3.6 27B is cheaper.
Scores updated · 38 tests both models report · How we compare
Where each one wins
Tests won in each of the eight areas we test. Each piece is one test, so a longer bar means more evidence; grey means the two scored within a point of each other.
- CodingWriting and fixing software90Kimi K2.69 of 9 tests
- MathCompetition and research-level math50Kimi K2.65 of 5 tests
- ReasoningHard problems that need careful thinking40Kimi K2.64 of 4 tests
- AgentsCarrying out multi-step tasks on its own20Kimi K2.62 of 3 tests · 1 tie
- FactsGetting facts right instead of making them up20Kimi K2.62 of 2 tests
- Images and chartsUnderstanding pictures, charts and video20Kimi K2.62 of 2 tests
- Following instructionsDoing exactly what it is asked20Kimi K2.62 of 2 tests
- Long documentsFinding answers in very long texts10Kimi K2.61 of 1 test
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.
Qwen3.6 27B costs 15% less for the same work.
The biggest differences
The tests each model wins by the widest margin, up to three each. Scores are out of 100.
Where Kimi K2.6 pulls ahead
- Unpublished advanced math problemsFrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2)+22.1points ahead
- Very hard expert questions across many subjectsHumanity's Last Exam+14.4points ahead
- Answers hard knowledge questions correctlyAA-Omniscience · Accuracy+13points ahead
Where Qwen3.6 27B pulls ahead
No clear win on a test scored out of 100.
Every test, side by side
All 38 tests both models report. The winning score is in its model's colour; marks a score checked independently.
CodingKimi K2.6
- Terminal-Bench HardKimi K2.6 by 9.143.934.8+9.1
- SciCodeKimi K2.6 by 8.751.542.8+8.7
- LiveBench · Agentic CodingKimi K2.6 by 7.646.939.3+7.6
- LiveBench · CodingKimi K2.6 by 6.878.671.8+6.8
- LiveCodeBench v6Kimi K2.6 by 5.789.683.9+5.7
- SWE-bench MultilingualKimi K2.6 by 5.476.771.3+5.4
- Terminal-Bench 2.1Kimi K2.6 by 5.265.960.7+5.2
- SWE-bench ProKimi K2.6 by 5.158.653.5+5.1
- SWE-bench VerifiedKimi K2.6 by 380.277.2+3
AgentsKimi K2.6
- τ-Bench V3 · BankingKimi K2.6 by 6.623.316.7+6.6
- GDPValKimi K2.6 by 2.62724.4+2.6
- Terminal-Bench 4.0tie0.50tie
ReasoningKimi K2.6
- Humanity's Last ExamKimi K2.6 by 14.437.523.1+14.4
- LiveBench · ReasoningKimi K2.6 by 9.179.470.3+9.1
- CritPtKimi K2.6 by 6.981.1+6.9
- GPQA DiamondKimi K2.6 by 6.991.184.2+6.9
FactsKimi K2.6
- AA-Omniscience · AccuracyKimi K2.6 by 1332.619.6+13
- AA-Omniscience · Non-hallucinationKimi K2.6 by 8.859.550.7+8.8
Images and chartsKimi K2.6
- CharXiv (RQ)Kimi K2.6 by 8.386.778.4+8.3
- MMMU-ProKimi K2.6 by 4.879.474.6+4.8
MathKimi K2.6
- FrontierMath Tiers 1-3 (v2)Kimi K2.6 by 22.157.235.1+22.1
- HMMT Feb. 2026Kimi K2.6 by 8.492.784.3+8.4
- IMOAnswerBenchKimi K2.6 by 5.28680.8+5.2
- LiveBench · MathematicsKimi K2.6 by 4.484.379.9+4.4
- AIME 2026Kimi K2.6 by 2.396.494.1+2.3
Following instructionsKimi K2.6
- LiveBench · Instruction FollowingKimi K2.6 by 11.264.453.2+11.2
- IFBenchKimi K2.6 by 8.47667.6+8.4
Other results10 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.
- AA-OmniscienceKimi K2.6 by 25.35.3-20+25.3
- Claw Eval (pass@3)Kimi K2.6 by 20.380.960.6+20.3
- livebench_languageKimi K2.6 by 11.875.163.3+11.8
- Artificial Analysis Coding IndexKimi K2.6 by 8.161.853.7+8.1
- Terminal-Bench 2.0Kimi K2.6 by 7.466.759.3+7.4
- AA IntelligenceKimi K2.6 by 5.62721.4+5.6
- livebench_data_analysisQwen3.6 27B by 5.365.170.4+5.3
- AA Agentic IndexKimi K2.6 by 222.120.1+2
- τ²-Bench Telecom (AA run)Kimi K2.6 by 1.795.994.2+1.7
- MMLU-Protie87.186.2tie
Questions people ask
Which is better, Kimi K2.6 or Qwen3.6 27B?
Kimi K2.6 wins all eight areas we test: coding, agents, reasoning, facts, images and charts, math, long documents and following instructions. Qwen3.6 27B wins none, but costs 15% less.
Which is better for coding?
Kimi K2.6. It wins 9 of the 9 coding tests both models report; Qwen3.6 27B wins none.
Which is cheaper?
Kimi K2.6 costs $0.95 per million input tokens and $4.00 per million output tokens; Qwen3.6 27B costs $0.60 and $3.60. That makes Qwen3.6 27B about 15% cheaper for the same work.
How do you compare the two?
We use the 38 benchmark tests both models have published scores on. The verdict counts the 28 tests in the eight capability areas, and a gap under one point (ten on rating-style scales) counts as a tie. The other 10 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.