Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, Claude Opus 4.8 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,598 vs 1,420), while Claude Opus 4.8 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (78.4%), while Kimi Chat 1.5 is more budget-friendly at $0.8/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 benchmarks evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
Prior Opus generation still billed at $5/$25. Kept as a compare baseline against Opus 5.
Moonshot ultra-long context model supporting up to 2 million tokens per request.
Currently comparing Claude Opus 4.8 vs Kimi Chat 1.5. Alternative family tiers available.
Simulate accuracy gains vs added response time & token cost
Reasoning models “think before answering” by generating internal reasoning tokens. Higher effort improves math, coding, and logic accuracy, but increases response delay and token costs.
Δ 178 Arena Elo pts
95 tok/s
$0.8 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top standard models across 6 key capability dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.
Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
| Benchmark | Claude Opus 4.8 | Kimi Chat 1.5 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +178 | ||
| Coding Elo | +214 | ||
| LiveBench | +15.6% | ||
| SWE-bench | +27.4% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +14.7% | ||
| Time to first token | +120 ms | ||
| Output speed | 66 tok/s | 95 tok/s | +29 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.2/1M | +$4.8/1M | |
| Output price | $0.8/1M | +$24.2/1M | |
| Context window | +1M |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
Kimi Chat 1.5 is estimated to save $531.00/month ($6,372/year).
Higher SWE-bench (78.4%).
Lower output list price ($0.8/1M).
Lower TTFT (210 ms).
Larger window (2M).
Claude Opus 4.8 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4.8 | Higher SWE-bench (78.4%). |
| High-volume chat | Kimi Chat 1.5 | Lower output list price ($0.8/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Kimi Chat 1.5 | Lower TTFT (210 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Kimi Chat 1.5 | Larger window (2M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Claude Opus 4.8 | Claude Opus 4.8 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
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