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Kimi K3 vs K2.6 vs Fable 5 vs GPT: the specs and real API pricing in one table

Moonshot AI released Kimi K3, a large language model with a 1M-token context window and API pricing of $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens, with cache-hit input dropping to $0.30 per million. A developer compiled a comparison table of Kimi K3, Kimi K2.6, Fable 5, and GPT, highlighting open weights and pricing differences.

read1 min views1 publishedJul 18, 2026

Kimi K3 dropped two days ago and my timeline hasn't stopped talking about it. But the actual numbers you need for a build decision — context window, benchmarks, and real token pricing — are scattered across launch posts and docs. I got tired of reconciling five tabs, so I put them side by side.

Kimi K3 Kimi K2.6 Fable 5 GPT
Context 1M tokens 256K (262,144) see vendor see vendor
API input $3.00 / 1M $0.95 / 1M premium premium
API output $15.00 / 1M $4.00 / 1M premium premium
Open weights

One pricing detail worth flagging: K3's cache-hit input drops to $0.30 / 1M. If you run long system prompts or multi-turn agents, that's where the "cheap" reputation actually comes from — not the base rate.

Where I couldn't confirm an official number I left it blank instead of guessing. Pricing is per Moonshot's stated rates — verify against the official pages before you build on it. Benchmarks are one signal, not the whole story; for "does the output actually feel good," throw a couple of dollars at your own hardest task.

Full table and more fields here (disclosure: I built the page): [https://kimi3.online](https://kimi3.online)

If you've run K3 in anger, I'd love corrections — especially on backend/reasoning vs Sol 5.6.
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