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Kimi K3 vs GPT-5.6
Of the 3 public leaderboards that rate both, Kimi K3 scores higher on 1 and GPT-5.6 on 2. On the ArtificialWatch Index, which takes the median of each model's percentile across the boards that score it, Kimi K3 is at 27.1 and GPT-5.6 at 48.1 (out of 100). On each maker's API, Kimi K3 costs $3 / $15 per 1M tokens (input / output) and GPT-5.6 $4 / $20.
Scores as published by each board; table composed November 7, 2026.
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Leaderboard by leaderboard
| Board | Kimi K3 | GPT-5.6 | Higher |
|---|---|---|---|
| LMArena Elo (community votes) | 1,656.5 | 1,615 | Kimi K3 |
| LiveBench global average (0-100) | 64.6 | 67.8 | GPT-5.6 |
| SimpleBench AVG@5 % (private set) | 60.7 | 71.7 | GPT-5.6 |
Raw scores are each board's own scale, so compare within a row, not across rows. Full table: the bench index.
For coding
On the ArtificialWatch coding index, Kimi K3 is at 66 (#16 of 45) and GPT-5.6 at 54 (#17). Kimi K3 scores higher on 2 of the 3 coding boards that rate both and GPT-5.6 on 1.
| Coding board | Kimi K3 | GPT-5.6 |
|---|---|---|
| LMArena · Coding | 1,506.5 | 1,495.7 |
| LiveBench · Coding | 59.3 | 86.2 |
| Vals Vibe Code Bench | 85 | 80.5 |
Kimi K3 at a glance
- Developer
- Moonshot
- Status
- Live since July 15, 2026
- API price
- $3 input / $15 output per 1M tokens · Moonshot AI, kimi-k3
- Context window
- 1.05M tokens
Live — dropped Jul 15 · 2.8T · open weights landed Jul 27 (1.56 TB, MXFP4).
Kimi K3, day one: impressive, expensive, and a little slow
2026-07-16 · Kimi K3 has been live for a day, and the picture forming is more interesting than the launch-night hype. Here's everything we're seeing so far.
GPT-5.6 at a glance
- Developer
- OpenAI
- Status
- Live since July 9, 2026
- API price
- $4 input / $20 output per 1M tokens · OpenAI, gpt-5.6
- Context window
- 1.05M tokens
Live — Sol · Terra · Luna since Jul 9 · repriced Jul 30: Luna −80%, Terra −20%.
OpenAI Daybreak, explained: Blue vs Red access, GPT-5.6-Cyber, the $1B defender fund, and Sophos's 89-second cases
2026-10-12 · OpenAI Daybreak is OpenAI's program for putting its most cyber-capable models in the hands of approved defenders. On October 9 OpenAI published its first big customer result: Sophos says agents it built on Daybreak cut its average response time on those cases from about 38 minutes to about 89 seconds.
Three ChatGPT leaks in five hours were one release note — and the line none of them quoted is the real change
2026-08-06 · Three separate leaks landed in five hours claiming three separate ChatGPT changes: an upgraded GPT-5.6 Sol for Plus and Pro, a new reasoning slider rolling out, and unlimited chats coming for free users. All three are real.
Kimi K3 vs GPT-5.6: quick answers
Which is better, Kimi K3 or GPT-5.6?
It depends on what you measure. Of the 3 public leaderboards that rate both, Kimi K3 scores higher on 1 and GPT-5.6 on 2. Kimi K3's widest lead is on LMArena; GPT-5.6's widest lead is on SimpleBench. On the ArtificialWatch Index, which takes the median of each model's percentile across the boards that score it, Kimi K3 is at 27.1 and GPT-5.6 at 48.1 (out of 100).
Which is newer, Kimi K3 or GPT-5.6?
Kimi K3. It went live on July 15, 2026, 6 days after GPT-5.6 (July 9, 2026).
Which is cheaper, Kimi K3 or GPT-5.6?
Kimi K3 is cheaper on both input and output. On each vendor's own API, Kimi K3 is $3 input / $15 output per million tokens and GPT-5.6 is $4 input / $20 output per million tokens. GPT-5.6's rate rises for prompts over 272K tokens. Prices as published in the models.dev catalog, as of 2026-11-07.
Which has the bigger context window, Kimi K3 or GPT-5.6?
GPT-5.6, at 1.05M tokens against Kimi K3's 1.05M, as each vendor lists it.
How do Kimi K3 and GPT-5.6 compare for coding?
On the ArtificialWatch coding index, Kimi K3 is at 66 (#16 of 45) and GPT-5.6 at 54 (#17). Kimi K3 scores higher on 2 of the 3 coding boards that rate both and GPT-5.6 on 1.
Who makes Kimi K3 and GPT-5.6?
Kimi K3 is from Moonshot; GPT-5.6 is from OpenAI.
Where do these numbers come from?
Each score is the leaderboard's own published figure, read by ArtificialWatch (table composed November 7, 2026). Boards measure different things, so raw scores are only comparable within a row.
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Also: the bench index · API pricing · what a workload costs on each · the wire