CompareLLM.ai
Live
Leaderboard
Models
Compare
Best of & Stacks
Research & News
…
CompareLLM.ai
Precision Benchmarks

Programmatic, dated AI model benchmarks, head-to-head comparisons, and Stack Engine presets.

Daily ingest · 06:00 UTC

Analytics & Benchmarks

  • AI Model Leaderboard
  • Head-to-Head Compare Hub
  • Models Directory
  • Stack Engine Presets
  • Frontier Models
  • Open Weights Catalog

Guides & Intent Lists

  • Best LLM Lists (2026)
  • Best Coding LLM
  • Best Cheap LLM
  • Fastest Low-Latency LLM
  • Claude vs GPT Benchmark
  • What is Elo?
  • Methodology Guides
  • News & Dispatches

Transparency & API

  • Evaluation Methodology
  • Benchmark Changelog
  • Public JSON API
  • llms.txt Specification
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sign In / Account

© 2026 CompareLLM. Public benchmark data aggregated from Arena Elo, LiveBench, SWE-bench & OpenRouter.

Every score has a dated snapshot.

Theme:
Currency:
  1. Home
  2. Comparisons
  3. DeepSeek V4 Flash vs Kimi K2

Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026

DeepSeek V4 Flash vs Kimi K2 benchmark

In this head-to-head showdown, DeepSeek V4 Flash delivers higher overall intelligence and human-preferred responses (Elo 1,490 vs 1,465), while DeepSeek V4 Flash leads in SWE-bench software engineering benchmarks (71.2%), while DeepSeek V4 Flash is more budget-friendly at $0.28/1M per 1M output tokens. Review the complete breakdown below to determine which model best fits your performance and budget requirements.

Executive Comparison Verdict

Bottom Line: DeepSeek V4 Flash holds the advantage over Kimi K2 in overall benchmark performance and human evaluation rankings. Choose DeepSeek V4 Flash for demanding workloads, or review the breakdown below to compare coding and pricing metrics.
Share Analysis:
WhatsAppTelegramXLinkedInReddit

Verified Head-to-Head Advantage Breakdown

10 direct benchmark disciplines evaluated across capability, speed, and cost

DeepSeek V4 Flash (10)Kimi K2 (0)
DeepSeek V4 Flash
10 of 10 Wins
✓Preference Elo✓Coding Elo✓LiveBench✓SWE-bench✓GPQA Diamond✓Time to first token✓Output speed✓Input price✓Output price✓Context window
Kimi K2
0 of 10 Wins
Competitive baseline across remaining benchmarks
DeepSeek
Leads 10 of 10 metrics
DeepSeek V4 Flash

DeepSeek Jul 31 2026 price-performance SKU. Public listings put it near $0.14/$0.28 per 1M tokens.

V4 Flash SpeedElo 1,490$0.28/1M out
Moonshot
Kimi K2

Moonshot foundation model with strong native bilingual reasoning and 65.8% SWE-bench Verified coding baseline.

K2 BaseElo 1,465$1.4/1M out

DeepSeek V4 Series Lineage & Sibling Variants

2 models

Currently comparing DeepSeek V4 Flash vs Kimi K2. Alternative family tiers available.

Active: DeepSeek V4 Flash
DeepSeek V4 Pro$1.6
Top Rival Showdowns for DeepSeek V4 Flash
All Matchups
Compare vs:vs Claude Opus 4.5vs GPT-5vs Gemini 3 Provs Grok 4.6vs Qwen 3 Max
Preference LeaderDeepSeek V4 Flash Wins

DeepSeek V4 Flash

Δ 25 Arena Elo pts

Throughput LeaderDeepSeek V4 Flash Wins

DeepSeek V4 Flash

142 tok/s

Value per Dollar LeaderDeepSeek V4 Flash Wins

DeepSeek V4 Flash

$0.28 / 1M output

Capability Percentiles

Relative percentile scores computed across all active models in the benchmark catalog.

Multi-Dimensional Capability Radar

Leaders Matchup Capability Radar

Comparing top Western standard models with China's leading frontier rival across 6 skill dimensions. Tap any spoke or dot to inspect.

Tap any node to inspect
Percentile 0–100
Head-to-Head Comparison

Overall Matchup Breakdown

Category wins across reasoning intelligence, generation speed, and token cost.

DeepSeek V4 Flash (10)vsKimi K2 (0)
DeepSeek V4 Flash: 10W (100%)Overall: DeepSeek V4 FlashKimi K2: 0W (0%)
← DeepSeek V4 FlashKimi K2 →
🏆DeepSeek V4 Flash(5/5)

Intelligence & Reasoning

Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy

Benchmark
DeepSeek V4 FlashvsKimi K2
Preference Elo
1,490vs1,465+25
Coding Elo
1,516vs1,470+46
SWE-bench
71.2%vs65.8%+5.4%
LiveBench
67.8%vs62.8%+5%
GPQA Diamond
81.6%vs76.5%+5.1%
DeepSeek V4 Flash: 5WKimi K2: 0W
🏆DeepSeek V4 Flash(2/2)

Speed & Latency

Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness

Benchmark
DeepSeek V4 FlashvsKimi K2
Output speed
142 tok/svs85 tok/s+57 tok/s
Time to first token
165 msvs240 ms+75 ms
DeepSeek V4 Flash: 2WKimi K2: 0W
🏆DeepSeek V4 Flash(3/3)

Pricing & Capacity

Cost per million tokens and max context window length

Benchmark
DeepSeek V4 FlashvsKimi K2
Output price
$0.28/1Mvs$1.4/1M+$1.12/1M
Input price
$0.14/1Mvs$0.35/1M+$0.21/1M
Context window
160kvs128k+32k
DeepSeek V4 Flash: 3WKimi K2: 0W

Side-by-Side Benchmark Matrix

Preference Elo+25
DeepSeek V4 Flash1,490
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K21,465
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Coding Elo+46
DeepSeek V4 Flash1,516
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K21,470
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
LiveBench+5%
DeepSeek V4 Flash67.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K262.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
SWE-bench+5.4%
DeepSeek V4 Flash71.2%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K265.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
GPQA Diamond+5.1%
DeepSeek V4 Flash81.6%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K276.5%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Time to first token+75 ms
DeepSeek V4 Flash165 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K2240 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Output speed+57 tok/s
DeepSeek V4 Flash142 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K285 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Input price+$0.21/1M
DeepSeek V4 Flash$0.14/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K2$0.35/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Output price+$1.12/1M
DeepSeek V4 Flash$0.28/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K2$1.4/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
Context window+32k
DeepSeek V4 Flash160k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
Kimi K2128k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
BenchmarkDeepSeek V4 FlashKimi K2Advantage Delta
Preference Elo
1,490
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
1,465
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+25
Coding Elo
1,516
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
1,470
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+46
LiveBench
67.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
62.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+5%
SWE-bench
71.2%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
65.8%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+5.4%
GPQA Diamond
81.6%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
76.5%
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+5.1%
Time to first token
165 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
240 ms
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+75 ms
Output speed
142 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
85 tok/s
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+57 tok/s
Input price
$0.14/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
$0.35/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+$0.21/1M
Output price
$0.28/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
$1.4/1M
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+$1.12/1M
Context window
160k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 16, 2026
128k
seed-bootstrap · Aug 1, 2026
+32k
Interactive Simulator (USD)

Workload Cost & Savings Calculator

Simulate monthly production API costs in USD (US Dollar).

Save up to 73% with DeepSeek V4 Flash
Monthly Volume50M tokens/mo
Quick Presets:
Token Ratio (In vs Out)70% In / 30% Out
RAG / Search (10% out)Coding / Chat (50% out)
DeepSeek V4 Flash$9.10 / mo
In: $4.9Out: $4.2
Kimi K2$33.25 / mo
In: $12.25Out: $21
Estimated Cost Delta

DeepSeek V4 Flash is estimated to save $24.15/month ($290/year).

Based on 50M tokens (30% gen)

Key Selection Recommendations

  • 1
    DeepSeek V4 Flash:Pick DeepSeek V4 Flash when repo-level coding accuracy is the constraint.
  • 2
    DeepSeek V4 Flash:Pick DeepSeek V4 Flash when time-to-first-token matters more than peak Elo.
  • 3
    DeepSeek V4 Flash:Pick DeepSeek V4 Flash as the default general assistant.

Recommended Workload Routing

Repo / coding agentsDeepSeek V4 Flash

Higher SWE-bench (71.2%).

High-volume chatDeepSeek V4 Flash

Lower output list price ($0.28/1M).

Voice / low-latency UIDeepSeek V4 Flash

Lower TTFT (165 ms).

Long-document RAGDeepSeek V4 Flash

Larger window (160k).

Screenshots / visionKimi K2

Kimi K2 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Target WorkloadRecommended PickEvaluation Rationale
Repo / coding agentsDeepSeek V4 FlashHigher SWE-bench (71.2%).
High-volume chatDeepSeek V4 FlashLower output list price ($0.28/1M).
Voice / low-latency UIDeepSeek V4 FlashLower TTFT (165 ms).
Long-document RAGDeepSeek V4 FlashLarger window (160k).
Screenshots / visionKimi K2Kimi K2 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.

Related Editorial Dispatches & Benchmark Notes

View all news
priceJul 31, 2026

DeepSeek V4 Flash (Jul 31): the $0.14/$0.28 price-performance SKU

Public listings put Flash near $0.14/$0.28 per 1M. That is a batch SKU, not a chatbot crown.

Community Sentiment

Cast Your Matchup Vote

0 total votes

Community Discussions (0)

Sign in to cast your verified vote, bookmark models, and participate in benchmark discussions.Sign In to Post

No comments posted on this matchup yet. Be the first to share an evaluation note!

Social Share Card Preview

Dynamic OpenGraph banner generated at /compare/deepseek-v4-flash-vs-kimi-k2/opengraph-image

Save PNG

CompareLLM AI Matrix

Verified Head-to-Head Telemetry

LIVE BENCHMARK
VS
DeepSeek

DeepSeek V4 Flash

Elo 1,490
SWE-bench71.2%
Speed (tok/s)142 tok/s
Input / 1M Tokens$0.14/1M
Output / 1M Tokens$0.28/1M
Moonshot

Kimi K2

Elo 1,465
SWE-bench65.8%
Speed (tok/s)85 tok/s
Input / 1M Tokens$0.35/1M
Output / 1M Tokens$1.4/1M

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better overall, DeepSeek V4 Flash or Kimi K2?
DeepSeek V4 Flash has the higher preference Elo in our latest snapshot (1,490). “Better” still depends on coding, price, and latency — see the table.
Which is better at coding, DeepSeek V4 Flash or Kimi K2?
DeepSeek V4 Flash leads SWE-bench at 71.2% vs 65.8%. SWE-bench is one harness, not your repo.
Which is cheaper to run in production?
DeepSeek V4 Flash output tokens are $0.28/1M versus $1.4/1M. Input prices and retry rates still move the real bill.
Which is faster, DeepSeek V4 Flash or Kimi K2?
DeepSeek V4 Flash has the lower time-to-first-token (165 ms vs 240 ms). Tokens/sec is a separate column if you care about long completions.
Which has the larger context window?
DeepSeek V4 Flash accepts 160k tokens versus 128k.
Can I self-host either model?
DeepSeek V4 Flash is marked open-weights in our catalog. The other side is a closed API. Check the provider license before you ship weights.
Are these scores from CompareLLM’s own evals?
No. V1 aggregates public leaderboards (and optional first-party latency pings). Each cell names its source and date. Read /methodology.
What does preference Elo mean on this page?
Preference Elo is a crowd vote from LMArena / Arena. People see two hidden answers and pick the one they like more. The model that wins more often gets a higher Elo. That means people preferred it — not that it passed a school test. It is not SWE-bench, not accuracy, and not a number we invent. DeepSeek V4 Flash and Kimi K2 Elo cells are dated snapshots from the named source — we do not compute Arena ourselves.

Related news

  • price · Jul 31, 2026

    DeepSeek V4 Flash (Jul 31): the $0.14/$0.28 price-performance SKU

Similar Head-to-Head Comparisons

All DeepSeek V4 Flash matchups →|All Kimi K2 matchups →
DeepSeek V4 Flash vs DeepSeek V4 Pro (previous deepseek)Kimi K2 vs Kimi Chat 1.5 (previous kimi)Kimi K2 vs Kimi K2.5 Max (next kimi)Kimi K2.5 Max vs DeepSeek V4 FlashKimi K3 vs DeepSeek V4 FlashGemini 2.0 Flash Thinking vs DeepSeek V4 Flash