Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 17, 2026
In this head-to-head showdown, MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5 delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,515 vs 1,490), while Claude Opus 4 leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (72.5%), while MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5 is more budget-friendly at $2.85/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.
10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost
First Claude 4 Opus generation. Baseline for opus 4 vs opus 5.
Auto-discovered from OpenRouter (moonshotai/kimi-k2.5). Preview until a second source matches.
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 25 Arena Elo pts
72 tok/s
$2.8499999999999996 / 1M output
Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.
Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill 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 | MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5 | Advantage Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preference Elo | +25 | ||
| Coding Elo | +18 | ||
| LiveBench | +0.4% | ||
| SWE-bench | +1.2% | ||
| GPQA Diamond | +7.2% | ||
| Time to first token | +120 ms | ||
| Output speed | 58 tok/s | 72 tok/s | +14 tok/s |
| Input price | $0.57/1M | +$14.43/1M | |
| Output price | $2.85/1M | +$72.15/1M | |
| Context window | +62k |
Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).
MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5 is estimated to save $1,587.30/month ($19,048/year).
Higher SWE-bench (72.5%).
Lower output list price ($2.85/1M).
Lower TTFT (270 ms).
Larger window (262k).
Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5).
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Claude Opus 4 | Higher SWE-bench (72.5%). |
| High-volume chat | MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5 | Lower output list price ($2.85/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5 | Lower TTFT (270 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5 | Larger window (262k). |
| Screenshots / vision | MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5 | Both accept images. Defaulting to the higher-Elo side (MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.5). |
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