Kimi K3 (batch) API Pricing
Moonshot (Kimi) · context window 1M · prices updated 2026-09-15
Where Kimi K3 (batch) sits on price
At $15.00 per million output tokens, Kimi K3 (batch) is a premium tier model — 7.2× the median output price of $2.08, which puts it cheaper than 13% and pricier than 87% of the models we track. It is the most expensive of the 8 Moonshot (Kimi) models we track. Output costs 5.0× input, the usual spread — trim both, starting with the answer length.
Cached input is 90% cheaper. On an input-heavy workload you need roughly a 28% cache-hit rate to take 25% off the input line — reachable for chatbots and agents that resend the same system prompt and history.
What real workloads cost on Kimi K3 (batch)
These three workloads are the ones teams actually run on a premium-priced model — a $15.00/1M model is not bought for the same job as one ten times the price.
| Workload | Per request | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| Support chatbot — 500 conversations/day (5K in / 1.4K out) Conversation history re-sent each turn — the classic prompt-caching win. | $0.036 | $540 |
| Coding agent — 300 sessions/day (60K in / 12K out) Multi-step loops re-read the same files; caching matters more than raw price. | $0.36 | $3240 |
| Long-context analysis — 200 runs/day (250K in / 4K out) Only possible on large-context models; input cost is nearly the whole bill. | $0.81 | $4860 |
Model your exact traffic in the API cost calculator — it preloads Kimi K3 (batch) with caching and batch options.
Kimi K3 (batch) price history
Kimi K3 (batch)'s price has not moved since we began tracking it on Aug 28, 2026 — 18 days of stability in a market where 78 of the 334 models we track have repriced over the same period, including 4 of Moonshot (Kimi)'s own 8 models.
Change-points from our daily price snapshots (tracking since Aug 28, 2026; intraday moves between snapshots are not captured).
Kimi K3 (batch) vs Claude Sonnet 4.6
The closest-priced alternative from another vendor is Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic) — priced within a rounding error on output, with identical input pricing. When two models land this close on price, the decision is quality on your own workload, not the price sheet: run 50 real requests through both and compare.
See Claude Sonnet 4.6 pricing →Cheaper alternatives
More Moonshot (Kimi) models
Frequently asked questions
› How much does the Kimi K3 (batch) API cost?
Kimi K3 (batch) costs $3.00 per million input tokens and $15.00 per million output tokens, with cached input at $0.3 per million (90% cheaper). That works out to roughly 66,667 output tokens per dollar.
› What does the support chatbot workload cost on Kimi K3 (batch)?
Support chatbot — 500 conversations/day (5K in / 1.4K out) costs about $0.036 per request and $540 per month on Kimi K3 (batch). Conversation history re-sent each turn — the classic prompt-caching win.
› What does it cost to fill Kimi K3 (batch)'s 1M context window?
Sending 1M of input in a single request costs $3.15 at $3.00 per million tokens — before any output. With prompt caching that same fill drops to about $0.3146 on repeat requests. This is why large context windows are cheap to advertise and expensive to actually use.
› Is Kimi K3 (batch) worth the price?
Kimi K3 (batch) sits in the middle of the market (8 of 8 by price within Moonshot (Kimi)). The honest test is a routing experiment: send the same 200 real requests to this model and to a tier below, and compare failure rate against the price gap — most teams find a majority of traffic never needed the pricier model.