Kimi K3 (batch) API Pricing
Moonshot (Kimi) · context window 1M · prices updated 2026-09-29
Where Kimi K3 (batch) sits on price
At $11.40 per million output tokens, Kimi K3 (batch) is a premium tier model — 5.2× the median output price of $2.20, which puts it cheaper than 18% and pricier than 82% of the models we track. It sits 7th cheapest 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 $11.40/1M 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. | $0.0274 | $410 |
| Coding agent — 300 sessions/day (60K in / 12K out) Multi-step loops re-read the same files; caching matters more than raw price. | $0.2736 | $2462 |
| Long-context analysis — 200 runs/day (250K in / 4K out) Only possible on large-context models; input cost is nearly the whole bill. | $0.6156 | $3694 |
Model your exact traffic in the API cost calculator — it preloads Kimi K3 (batch) with caching and batch options.
Kimi K3 (batch) price history
Moonshot (Kimi) last cut Kimi K3 (batch)'s output price on Sep 23, 2026 (-24% per output token), from $3.00/$15.00 to $2.28/$11.40 per 1M in/out. That is the only repricing in the 32 days we have tracked it — worth knowing before you hard-code today's rate into a budget.
| Date | Input /1M | Output /1M | Output change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28, 2026 (tracking began) | $3.00 | $15.00 | — |
| Sep 23, 2026 | $2.28 | $11.40 | -24% |
Change-points from our daily price snapshots (tracking since Aug 28, 2026; intraday moves between snapshots are not captured).
Kimi K3 (batch) vs Qwen3.8 Max Prime
The closest-priced alternative from another vendor is Qwen3.8 Max Prime (Alibaba (Qwen)) — 5% more expensive on output, with $1.72 more per million input tokens. 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 Qwen3.8 Max Prime pricing →Cheaper alternatives
More Moonshot (Kimi) models
Frequently asked questions
› How much does the Kimi K3 (batch) API cost?
Kimi K3 (batch) costs $2.28 per million input tokens and $11.40 per million output tokens, with cached input at $0.228 per million (90% cheaper). That works out to roughly 87,719 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 $0.0274 per request and $410 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 $2.39 at $2.28 per million tokens — before any output. With prompt caching that same fill drops to about $0.2391 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 (7 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.