API cost decision in 10 seconds

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview vs Kimi K2 0905

Pick Kimi K2 0905 for lower cost; pick Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated:  Data confirmed:  Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Kimi K2 0905 for lower cost; pick Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Kimi K2 0905 is estimated at $1.85 vs $8 for Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, saving $6.15 (76.9% lower).

Cost-first pickKimi K2 0905
Context-first pickGemini 3.1 Pro Preview
Sample savings$6.1576.9%
10x traffic gap$61.5

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has more context, but Kimi K2 0905 saves $6.15 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $61.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Kimi K2 0905 stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickGemini 3.1 Pro PreviewKimi K2 0905
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputKimi K2 0905$16$4.25
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputKimi K2 0905$14$3.1
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputKimi K2 0905$62$13.1
Cheaper input Kimi K2 0905 $2 vs $0.6 / 1M

Kimi K2 0905 is $1.4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).

Cheaper output Kimi K2 0905 $12 vs $2.5 / 1M

Kimi K2 0905 is $9.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (79.2% lower; 4.8x difference).

Larger context Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview 1.05M vs 262.14K

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has 786.43K more context (4x larger).

Sample workload Kimi K2 0905 $8 vs $1.85

Kimi K2 0905 is $6.15 cheaper on the standard workload (76.9% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview Calculating… Estimated API cost
Kimi K2 0905 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Cheaper for this workload Calculating… Difference: calculating…

This estimate uses normalized public API pricing per 1M tokens. It is a planning aid, not a billing quote. Verify provider pricing, limits, and terms before production use.

Quick Decision

Verdict

Kimi K2 0905 has the lower input price; Kimi K2 0905 has the lower output price; Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Kimi K2 0905 is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $8 for Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview and $1.85 for Kimi K2 0905.

Best Fit

Choose Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Kimi K2 0905 when you care most about lower input-token price, and lower output-token price.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Kimi K2 0905 is estimated at $1.85 vs $8 for Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, saving $6.15 (76.9% lower).
  • Kimi K2 0905 is $6.15 cheaper on the standard workload (76.9% lower).
  • Kimi K2 0905 is $1.4 cheaper per 1M input tokens (70% lower; 3.33x difference).
  • Kimi K2 0905 is $9.5 cheaper per 1M output tokens (79.2% lower; 4.8x difference).
  • Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview has 786.43K more context (4x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureGemini 3.1 Pro Preview
(Google)
Kimi K2 0905
(MoonshotAI)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$2$0.6
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$12$2.5
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$8$1.85
Context Window1.05M262.14K
Release Date
Popularity#28#70

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionKimi K2 0905On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Kimi K2 0905 is estimated at $1.85 vs $8 for Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview, saving $6.15 (76.9% lower).
High-volume input processingKimi K2 0905Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsKimi K2 0905Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workGemini 3.1 Pro PreviewA larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • Gemma 4 31B (free) can replace Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Gemma 4 26B A4B (free) can replace Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Lyria 3 Clip Preview can replace Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Lyria 3 Pro Preview can replace Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Larger context near this budget
  • Llama 4 Scout offers 10M context with $0.23 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
  • Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $5 sample workload cost.
  • GPT-5.4 offers 1.05M context with $10 sample workload cost.

Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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Google catalog

Review all tracked Google models before deciding whether this matchup is the right shortlist.

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MoonshotAI catalog

Check other MoonshotAI models with comparable pricing, context, or release timing.

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Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview

Gemini 3.1 Pro Preview is Google’s frontier reasoning model, delivering enhanced software engineering performance, improved agentic reliability, and more efficient token usage across complex workflows. Building on the multimodal foundation...

Kimi K2 0905

Kimi K2 0905 is the September update of [Kimi K2 0711](moonshotai/kimi-k2). It is a large-scale Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) language model developed by Moonshot AI, featuring 1 trillion total parameters with 32...