Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Kimi K2.5

Side-by-side benchmark comparison across coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 by Anthropic wins on 7 of 11 benchmarks against Kimi K2.5 by Moonshot AI, which leads on 4. This head-to-head comparison covers coding, math, reasoning, speed, and pricing metrics from our benchmark data.

Category-by-Category Breakdown

Coding: In coding, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 63 on AA Coding Index compared to Kimi K2.5's 46.8, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1274 on Design Arena ELO compared to Kimi K2.5's 1228, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1297 on Website Arena ELO compared to Kimi K2.5's 1261.

Reasoning: In reasoning, Kimi K2.5 scores 84.9% on GPQA Diamond compared to Claude Sonnet 4.6's 54.3%, while Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 75.3% on τ²-Bench Airline compared to Kimi K2.5's 71.2%.

Context: In context, Claude Sonnet 4.6 scores 1.0M on Context Length compared to Kimi K2.5's 262K.

Pricing Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input tokens and $15.0/1M output tokens, while Kimi K2.5 costs $0.45/1M input and $2.3/1M output. Kimi K2.5 is the more affordable option for API usage.

Speed Comparison

Claude Sonnet 4.6 generates output at 57 tok/s compared to Kimi K2.5's 45 tok/s, and the time to first token is 790 ms for Claude Sonnet 4.6 versus 1210 ms for Kimi K2.5. Claude Sonnet 4.6 delivers faster throughput.

Verdict

For developers prioritizing speed, Claude Sonnet 4.6 has the edge. For those who value affordability, Kimi K2.5 is the stronger choice.

Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Kimi K2.5 — FAQ

Which is better, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Kimi K2.5?

Claude Sonnet 4.6 wins on more benchmarks overall (7 vs 4). However, the best choice depends on your specific needs — each model excels in different areas.

How does Claude Sonnet 4.6 compare to Kimi K2.5 for coding?

SWE-bench Verified data is not available for both models. Check the detailed comparison charts above for other coding-related metrics.

Is Claude Sonnet 4.6 cheaper than Kimi K2.5?

Yes, Kimi K2.5 is cheaper. Claude Sonnet 4.6 costs $3.0/1M input and $15.0/1M output tokens. Kimi K2.5 costs $0.45/1M input and $2.3/1M output tokens.

Which is faster, Claude Sonnet 4.6 or Kimi K2.5?

Claude Sonnet 4.6 is faster, generating output at 57 tok/s compared to 45 tok/s. Faster output speed means shorter wait times for API responses.

What benchmarks does the Claude Sonnet 4.6 vs Kimi K2.5 comparison cover?

This comparison covers 11 benchmarks including GPQA Diamond, Output Speed, Time to First Token, Input Cost, Output Cost, Context Length, AA Coding Index, Cached Input Cost, and more. Metrics span general intelligence, coding, math, reasoning, speed, and cost categories.