Compare cost, what each option includes, setup, availability, and fit. Unknown facts remain unknown. Checked 2026-09-02.
Differences that matter
Side by side
Token cost at moderate daily use. A dash means an exact offering price is not observed; it never means $0.
Specifications
Swipe sideways to compare every specification and source receipt.
| DeepSeek V3.2 vendor · 12d | Kimi K2 Thinking vendor · 12d | |
|---|---|---|
| API format | OpenAI, Anthropic OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | OpenAI OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Architecture class | Mixture of experts | — |
| Architecture | Transformer with MLA attention and mixture-of-experts feed-forward blocks | — |
| Capabilities | Tools, Thinking OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | Tools, Thinking OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Context window | 131072 OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | 262144 OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Execution Paths | api OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | api OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Restricted access | No OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 | No OpenRouter · 2026-07-06 |
| Class | value | standard |
Cost at three usage tiers
| A few questions and small tasks each day. | $1.97/mo | $5.85/mo |
| Daily use, plus some scheduled tasks. | $6.58/mo | $19.50/mo |
| Working for you most of the day, including web tasks. | $19.74/mo | $58.50/mo |
Token cost only; add a host for the full-stack estimate. A model download's cost remains unknown until its hardware and energy are selected.
What others don't publish
DeepSeek V3.2
No unique caveat on file.
Kimi K2 Thinking
No unique caveat on file.