COMPARISON · Last verified: September 2026
ChatGPT vs Kimi
OpenAI's all-in-one assistant against Moonshot AI's agent-first Kimi, compared on verified pricing, models, context and fit.
🏆 Quick Verdict
ChatGPT (4.8/5 vs 4.1/5)
Both have a $0 plan; paid tiers start at $8/mo (ChatGPT Go) and $19/mo, or $15/mo billed annually (Kimi Plus)
⭐ Strongest At
Every tool has one thing it does better than its competitors. Here is each one's honest edge:
Breadth in one app: GPT-6 Astra on Plus and Pro, image generation, voice, deep research, custom GPTs, plugins and Codex, on web, desktop and mobile.
Agent-built documents and long context: K3 turns requests into editable slides, docs and sheets, and the Max and Ultra plans allow up to 1M tokens in a chat.
📊 Quick Specs
What is ChatGPT?
ChatGPT is OpenAI's AI assistant. The Free plan gives unlimited text chats with GPT-5.6 Luna, subject to abuse guardrails, while Plus adds reasoning models with GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6; OpenAI's developer docs call GPT-6 Astra its “flagship model for complex reasoning and coding.” Around the models sits a wide feature set: image generation, voice chats, deep research, memory, projects, scheduled tasks, file uploads and custom GPTs, plus plugins that bundle skills and MCP servers. Codex, OpenAI's agent for coding tasks, and ChatGPT Work, which completes multi-step tasks using your files, apps and tools, are included on every plan, with limited access on Free and Go. ChatGPT runs on the web, iOS and Android, and its desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux combines Chat, Work and Codex. Business adds a dedicated workspace with SAML SSO and MFA, and keeps business data out of training by default.
What is Kimi?
Kimi is the AI assistant from Moonshot AI, a company based in Beijing. Its help center calls it “an online AI assistant that combines chat and Agent”: you can ask questions, or hand it tasks such as building a website, slide deck, document or spreadsheet, or running Deep Research. A model switcher offers K2.6 for fast conversations, K3 for the strongest overall capability and K3 Cluster for large batch jobs. K3, announced in July 2026, is a 2.8-trillion-parameter model with native vision and a 1-million-token context window, and Moonshot has released its weights under the Kimi K3 License. In chat, K3 can produce editable .pptx, .docx, .xlsx and .pdf files. Kimi searches the web when it decides a question needs it, keeps a memory, and accepts files up to 100 MB each, 50 at a time; creative plugins add image, short video and audio generation. Kimi Work (a desktop agent for Windows and Apple silicon Macs), Kimi Code (for the terminal and VS Code) and Kimi Claw (cloud automation) round out the family, with mobile apps for iOS, Android and HarmonyOS.
Key differences at a glance
Both are general AI assistants with free plans, apps and APIs. The differences that matter most are these:
- -- Models: ChatGPT gives Plus and Pro subscribers GPT-6 Astra alongside the GPT-5.6 family; Kimi offers K2.6 and K3, and Moonshot's own launch post says K3 still trails GPT 5.6 Sol and Claude Fable 5 overall.
- -- Context: Kimi allows up to 1M tokens in a chat with K3 on Max and Ultra; ChatGPT's largest context on its individual plans is 400K tokens, on Pro.
- -- Entry price: Both have a $0 plan. ChatGPT's cheapest paid tier is Go at $8/month; Kimi's is Plus at $19/month ($15 billed annually).
- -- What you pay for: ChatGPT tiers raise usage limits and unlock stronger models; Kimi's tiers scale agent credits, concurrency and Swarm subtasks.
- -- Developers: Kimi's API lists K3 at $3/$15 per 1M input/output tokens against $10/$50 for GPT-6 Astra, and Kimi's quickstart uses the OpenAI SDK.
- -- Your data: OpenAI trains on Free, Go, Plus and Pro chats unless you opt out; Kimi's privacy policy lists model training as a use of user content. Both business plans keep business data out of training by default.
- -- Score: ChatGPT rates 4.8/5 in our review; Kimi rates 4.1/5.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Here is how ChatGPT and Kimi compare on the capabilities that affect daily use:
Pricing comparison
ChatGPT has a Free plan at $0 with unlimited text chats on GPT-5.6 Luna (abuse guardrails apply) and limited uploads, image generation, voice and deep research. OpenAI's plan documentation lists the paid tiers in US dollars: Go at $8/month, Plus at $20/month, Pro from $100/month (Pro $100 gives 5x Plus's usage; on September 10, 2026, OpenAI temporarily paused new sign-ups and upgrades to the 20x Pro $200 tier) and Business at $20 per user per month billed annually for 2 or more users, or $25 billed monthly. Enterprise and Edu are priced through sales. OpenAI sets some prices by country, so the price at checkout can differ outside the US.
Kimi's pricing page lists five individual plans in US dollars. Adagio is free. Plus is $19/month billed monthly or $15/month billed annually ($180 a year), Pro is $39/month or $31 ($372 a year), Max is $99/month or $79 ($948 a year), and Ultra is $199/month or $159 ($1,908 a year). Pro, Max and Ultra list 2x, 5x and 10x agent credits, and the 1M-token K3 chat capacity comes with Max and Ultra. Kimi Business Premium is $600 per seat per year, billed annually with a 2-seat minimum. Some Kimi help articles still use the earlier tier names Moderato, Allegretto, Allegro and Vivace for the same four prices.
The entry paid plans buy different things. ChatGPT Go ($8) adds more messages with tools, uploads, image creation and voice chats, plus longer memory, and may include ads. ChatGPT Plus ($20) adds reasoning models with GPT-6 Astra and GPT-5.6, expanded deep research and Codex usage, and ChatGPT Work on desktop, web and mobile. Kimi Plus ($19) adds 2 concurrent agent tasks, a 4x-speed priority queue, Swarm with 2 subtasks, Kimi Code, 10 scheduled tasks, 20 projects and 20GB of storage.
A worked example: a 5-person team on business plans pays $100 a month for ChatGPT Business billed annually ($1,200 a year), or $125 a month billed monthly. Kimi Business Premium costs $3,000 a year for the same 5 seats ($600 each), billed annually. If those five people take individual plans instead, five Kimi Plus seats cost $95 a month and five ChatGPT Plus seats cost $100 a month, both billed monthly.
Developers pay per token: Kimi lists K3 at $3.00 per 1M input tokens ($0.30 on cache hits) and $15.00 per 1M output tokens, and K3 unlocks after a top-up of at least $1. OpenAI lists GPT-6 Astra at $10 and $50, and GPT-5.6 Luna, its model for cost-sensitive workloads, at $0.20 and $1.20.
Pros & Cons
ChatGPT
- Image generation, voice, deep research, custom GPTs, plugins and Codex in one app
- GPT-6 Astra on Plus and Pro, OpenAI's flagship for complex reasoning and coding
- Apps for web, iOS and Android, plus a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux
- Cheapest paid entry point of the two: Go at $8/month
- Business plan with SAML SSO and MFA, and business data kept out of training by default
- GPT-6 Astra starts with the $20 Plus plan
- Largest individual-plan context is 400K tokens, on Pro
- Go may include ads
- Chats on individual plans train OpenAI's models unless you opt out
- GPT-6 Astra API tokens cost more than K3's ($10/$50 vs $3/$15 per 1M)
Kimi
- Up to 1M tokens of chat context with K3 on Max and Ultra
- Agent tasks that return editable slides, documents and spreadsheets
- K3 weights released on Hugging Face under the Kimi K3 License
- Low API prices: K3 at $3/$15 per 1M tokens, $0.30 for cached input
- Annual billing cuts Plus to $15/month and saves up to $480 a year on Ultra
- Moonshot says K3 still trails GPT 5.6 Sol and Claude Fable 5 overall
- Small free tier: 1 agent task at a time, 2 projects, 500MB of storage
- On individual plans, the 1M-token context needs Max ($99/month) or Ultra ($199/month)
- Kimi Business bills annually, at $600 per seat per year
- Its privacy policy says user content is used for model training and may be stored outside your country
Which Should You Choose?
Choose ChatGPT if you:
- → Want one assistant for writing, images, voice, research and coding
- → Want GPT-6 Astra, which starts on the $20 Plus plan
- → Want the cheapest paid tier (Go at $8/month) or monthly team billing (Business at $25 per user)
- → Work across macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android
Choose Kimi if you:
- → Work with very long documents and can justify Max at $99/month for the 1M-token context
- → Want agents that deliver finished slides, documents, spreadsheets or websites
- → Build on an API and want K3 at $3/$15 per 1M tokens, or open weights
- → Want a HarmonyOS app
Bottom Line
ChatGPT has the higher ToolChase score (4.8/5 vs 4.1/5) and is the all-round pick: GPT-6 Astra on Plus and Pro, image generation, voice, deep research, custom GPTs and Codex, on web, desktop and mobile, with paid plans from $8 a month. Kimi (4.1/5) is the more focused pick: its agents turn requests into finished slides, documents, sheets and websites, its Max and Ultra plans hold up to 1M tokens in a chat, and its K3 API costs less per token than GPT-6 Astra, though Moonshot says K3 still trails GPT 5.6 Sol overall. Both have free plans, so you can try each before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
ChatGPT vs Kimi, which one should I pick?
Pick ChatGPT if you want one assistant for writing, research, images, voice and coding: Plus ($20/month) adds GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI's flagship model. Pick Kimi if your work is long documents, or agent tasks that should end in finished slides, documents, sheets or websites: its Max plan ($99/month) allows up to 1M tokens in a chat with K3. ChatGPT scores 4.8/5 in our review and Kimi scores 4.1/5.
Is Kimi free to use?
Yes. Kimi's Adagio plan costs $0. Its pricing page gives Adagio 1 agent task at a time, 2 scheduled tasks, 2 projects, 500MB of project storage and 15+ plugin types. Swarm and Kimi Code start with the Plus plan ($19/month, or $15/month billed annually), and the 1M-token K3 chat capacity starts with Max ($99/month).
Is ChatGPT or Kimi cheaper?
ChatGPT has the cheaper entry tier: Go is $8/month at US prices, against $19/month for Kimi Plus ($15/month billed annually). For teams, ChatGPT Business is $20 per user per month billed annually, while Kimi Business Premium is $600 per seat per year, so 5 seats cost $1,200 a year on ChatGPT and $3,000 on Kimi. Kimi's K3 API ($3/$15 per 1M tokens) costs less than GPT-6 Astra ($10/$50).
Does Kimi have a bigger context window than ChatGPT?
At the top end, yes. Kimi's Max and Ultra plans allow up to 1M tokens in a chat with K3, while K2.6 handles about 128K tokens per turn. ChatGPT's pricing page lists up to 128K tokens for Instant models and up to 400K for reasoning models, both on Pro. Through the APIs they are close: 1.05M tokens for GPT-6 Astra and 1,048,576 for K3.
Is Kimi K3 as good as ChatGPT's models?
By Moonshot's own account, K3 is close to the leaders but behind them: its launch post says K3's overall performance still trails the most powerful proprietary models, naming GPT 5.6 Sol and Claude Fable 5. OpenAI's flagship, GPT-6 Astra, is on ChatGPT Plus and Pro. K3's advantages are price ($3/$15 per 1M API tokens against $10/$50) and open weights under the Kimi K3 License.
Is Kimi safe for work data?
It depends on the plan. Kimi is made by Beijing-based Moonshot AI, and its privacy policy says user content is processed to improve the service, including training and optimizing its AI models, and may be stored on servers outside your country. Kimi's Business plan promises no model training on business data by default. OpenAI trains on Free, Go, Plus and Pro chats unless you opt out, and ChatGPT Business excludes business data from training by default.
Can I call the Kimi API with OpenAI's SDK?
Yes. Kimi's K3 quickstart makes its calls through the OpenAI Python SDK, pointed at Kimi's own base URL with the model name kimi-k3. K3 unlocks after a top-up of at least $1, and it always runs with thinking mode on, with low, high or max reasoning effort.