Flagship
Kimi K3
The official direct API model ID is `kimi-k3`.
Kimi model guide
Kimi for global users
Kimi K3 is the current flagship context. Evaluate it as a model, then choose an official API, a third-party provider, Kimi Code or a self-hosted deployment path.
Current flagship
kimi-k3
DECLARED
Official context
Up to 1M tokens
K3 platform documentation
Access layers
API · Provider · Self-host
Treat each route separately
Reviewed
July 28, 2026
Recheck live availability before purchase
Current model context
Start with K3, then verify the route.
Kimi K3 is the current flagship described by Kimi for long-horizon coding and knowledge work. Its model facts are portable; account access, price, endpoint and commercial terms are route-specific.
Context
Up to 1M tokens
The maximum covers the combined request context and generated response.
Reasoning
Thinking stays on
Use `reasoning_effort` with low, high or max rather than assuming a non-thinking K3 mode.
Deployment
Open weights available
The code and model weights are released under the Kimi K3 License; operating them is your infrastructure project.
Access choices
Choose the route after the model.
The Kimi label can sit behind different credentials, providers, billing systems and data paths.
Managed access
Official API routes
Choose the global or China platform, then keep that region's account, key, endpoint and billing route together.
Explore this route →Billing choice
API pricing by route
Compare official USD, official CNY and provider-declared pricing without converting them into one artificial sticker price.
Explore this route →Coding agent
Kimi Code
Use Moonshot AI's terminal coding agent with the current Kimi model route and its agent-oriented workflow.
Open official source ↗Provider route
Third-party inference
A third party may host the weights or route to another provider. Model name alone does not identify the data path.
Explore this route →Private deployment
Self-hosted weights
Operate the open weights on compatible infrastructure after reviewing the model license, hardware and runtime requirements.
Open official source ↗Route boundaries
Three distinctions that change the decision
Official API vs provider
The model can match while the contract does not.
The global and China Kimi platforms are official Moonshot routes. A third-party host issues its own key, endpoint, invoice and data terms, so it must be evaluated as a separate provider relationship.
Self-hosting / open weights
Weights are not a managed service.
K3 weights create a self-host path, but your team still needs a supported inference engine, suitable hardware, security controls, monitoring, updates and a license review.
For coding workflows
Choose the harness as well as the model.
Kimi Code is Moonshot AI's terminal agent. Claude Code and OpenCode are different clients with their own configuration contracts; API compatibility alone does not guarantee identical tool behavior.
Enterprise considerations
Kimi approval is a deployment question.
An open-weight model, an official managed API and an aggregator route have different operational and trust boundaries even when the model family is the same.
Verify the route →API Radar bridge URL pending confirmation.
- Which company is the contractual provider?
- Which region and endpoint will receive prompts and files?
- What logging, retention and training-use terms apply?
- Is the model route official, third-party hosted or self-managed?
- Who owns API key custody and spend controls?
- What evidence will security and procurement teams receive?