API cost decision in 10 seconds

KAT-Coder-Air V2.5 vs Hy3 (free)

Pick Hy3 (free) when budget and context both matter.

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

Budget verdict

Pick Hy3 (free) when budget and context both matter.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Hy3 (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.45 for KAT-Coder-Air V2.5, saving $0.45 (100% lower).

Cost-first pickHy3 (free)
Context-first pickHy3 (free)
Sample savings$0.45100%
10x traffic gap$4.5

Hy3 (free) is cheaper on the standard workload and also has the larger context window. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $4.5. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Hy3 (free) stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickKAT-Coder-Air V2.5Hy3 (free)
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputHy3 (free)$1.05$0
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputHy3 (free)$0.75$0
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputHy3 (free)$3.15$0
Cheaper input Hy3 (free) $0.15 vs $0 / 1M

Hy3 (free) is free for input tokens while KAT-Coder-Air V2.5 costs $0.15 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Hy3 (free) $0.6 vs $0 / 1M

Hy3 (free) is free for output tokens while KAT-Coder-Air V2.5 costs $0.6 per 1M tokens.

Larger context Hy3 (free) 256K vs 262.14K

Hy3 (free) has 6.14K more context (1.02x larger).

Sample workload Hy3 (free) $0.45 vs $0

Hy3 (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.45.

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
KAT-Coder-Air V2.5 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Hy3 (free) 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

Hy3 (free) has the lower input price; Hy3 (free) has the lower output price; Hy3 (free) offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Hy3 (free) is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $0.45 for KAT-Coder-Air V2.5 and $0 for Hy3 (free).

Best Fit

Choose KAT-Coder-Air V2.5 when its provider, model quality, latency, or availability is more important than the numeric price/context winner.

Choose Hy3 (free) when you care most about lower input-token price, lower output-token price, and larger context window.

Decision Notes
  • On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Hy3 (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.45 for KAT-Coder-Air V2.5, saving $0.45 (100% lower).
  • Hy3 (free) is free for the standard workload while the other model is estimated at $0.45.
  • Hy3 (free) is free for input tokens while KAT-Coder-Air V2.5 costs $0.15 per 1M tokens.
  • Hy3 (free) is free for output tokens while KAT-Coder-Air V2.5 costs $0.6 per 1M tokens.
  • Hy3 (free) has 6.14K more context (1.02x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureKAT-Coder-Air V2.5
(Kwaipilot)
Hy3 (free)
(Tencent)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.15$0
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$0.6$0
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$0.45$0
Context Window256K262.14K
Release Date

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionHy3 (free)On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Hy3 (free) is estimated at $0 vs $0.45 for KAT-Coder-Air V2.5, saving $0.45 (100% lower).
High-volume input processingHy3 (free)Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsHy3 (free)Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workHy3 (free)A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • No lower-cost same-provider swap is currently tracked for this pair.

Cheaper alternatives

Review low-cost models sorted by a standard 1M input plus 500K output workload.

Open cheapest models

Larger context alternatives

Find models with larger context windows for RAG, long documents, and codebase review.

Open largest context models

Provider catalogs

Compare models within provider hubs before choosing a final API vendor.

Open provider hubs

Kwaipilot catalog

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

Open Kwaipilot models

Tencent catalog

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

Open Tencent models
KAT-Coder-Air V2.5

KAT-Coder-Air V2.5 is a flagship-level Agentic Coding model that can directly hand over an entire issue or an entire business workflow to it, allowing it to autonomously locate and make...

Hy3 (free)

Hy3 is a 295B-parameter Mixture-of-Experts model from Tencent (21B active, 192 experts with top-8 routing) built for reasoning, agentic workflows, and real-world production use. It supports a configurable reasoning effort:...