---
title: "Kimi K2.6 — LLM-TEST.com"
url: /models/kimi-k2-6/
canonical_url: https://llm-test.com/models/kimi-k2-6/
language: en
type: model
summary: "The prior Kimi generation, a capable and more affordable open-weights model for agentic and long-context tasks. A practical choice when K3's full strength isn't required."
last_updated: "2026-11-05"
---

# Kimi K2.6

_Moonshot AI · Balanced · open weights_

The prior Kimi generation, a capable and more affordable open-weights model for agentic and long-context tasks. A practical choice when K3's full strength isn't required.

## At a glance

- Released: Jul 14, 2026
- Provider: Moonshot AI
- Context window: 256,000 tokens
- Max output: 64,000 tokens
- Modalities: Text + image → text
- Knowledge cutoff: March 2026
- API model ID: `kimi-k2.6`
- License: Modified MIT

## Pricing

- Standard: $0.95 input / $4 output per 1M tokens (aggregator estimate)
- Example: a 1,500-token prompt + 650-token answer ≈ $0.004 (standard)

## What's new vs Kimi K2 (January 2026)

- Better tool use and reasoning than the original K2
- Shorter context and weaker planning than K3

## Best use cases

- **Cost-aware agents** — Runs multi-step tool workflows at a lower price than K3.
- **Long-context tasks** — Handles large documents and codebases with a wide window.
- **Self-hosting** — Deployable privately under its open license.

## Strengths

- Open weights
- Good agentic ability
- Lower cost than K3

## Limitations

- Less capable than K3
- Shorter context window

## Where to get access

- Consumer app: Kimi (web, mobile) — https://kimi.com
- API: the Moonshot AI Platform — https://platform.moonshot.ai
- Also available: open weights on Hugging Face
- Docs: https://platform.moonshot.ai/docs

Full comparison and live pricing: https://llm-test.com/ · directory: https://llm-test.com/models/