API cost decision in 10 seconds

Kimi K2 0905 vs Llama 3 8B Lunaris

Pick Llama 3 8B Lunaris for lower cost; pick Kimi K2 0905 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 Llama 3 8B Lunaris for lower cost; pick Kimi K2 0905 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $1.85 for Kimi K2 0905, saving $1.79 (96.5% lower).

Cost-first pickLlama 3 8B Lunaris
Context-first pickKimi K2 0905
Sample savings$1.7996.5%
10x traffic gap$17.85

Kimi K2 0905 has more context, but Llama 3 8B Lunaris saves $1.79 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $17.85. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Llama 3 8B Lunaris stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickKimi K2 0905Llama 3 8B Lunaris
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputLlama 3 8B Lunaris$4.25$0.23
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputLlama 3 8B Lunaris$3.1$0.09
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputLlama 3 8B Lunaris$13.1$0.29
Cheaper input Llama 3 8B Lunaris $0.6 vs $0.04 / 1M

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $0.56 cheaper per 1M input tokens (93.3% lower; 15x difference).

Cheaper output Llama 3 8B Lunaris $2.5 vs $0.05 / 1M

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $2.45 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98% lower; 50x difference).

Larger context Kimi K2 0905 262.14K vs 8.19K

Kimi K2 0905 has 253.95K more context (32x larger).

Sample workload Llama 3 8B Lunaris $1.85 vs $0.07

Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $1.79 cheaper on the standard workload (96.5% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Kimi K2 0905 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Llama 3 8B Lunaris 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

Llama 3 8B Lunaris has the lower input price; Llama 3 8B Lunaris has the lower output price; Kimi K2 0905 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $1.85 for Kimi K2 0905 and $0.07 for Llama 3 8B Lunaris.

Best Fit

Choose Kimi K2 0905 when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Llama 3 8B Lunaris 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, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $1.85 for Kimi K2 0905, saving $1.79 (96.5% lower).
  • Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $1.79 cheaper on the standard workload (96.5% lower).
  • Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $0.56 cheaper per 1M input tokens (93.3% lower; 15x difference).
  • Llama 3 8B Lunaris is $2.45 cheaper per 1M output tokens (98% lower; 50x difference).
  • Kimi K2 0905 has 253.95K more context (32x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
FeatureKimi K2 0905
(MoonshotAI)
Llama 3 8B Lunaris
(Sao10K)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$0.6$0.04
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$2.5$0.05
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$1.85$0.07
Context Window262.14K8.19K
Release Date
Popularity#70#115

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionLlama 3 8B LunarisOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Llama 3 8B Lunaris is estimated at $0.07 vs $1.85 for Kimi K2 0905, saving $1.79 (96.5% lower).
High-volume input processingLlama 3 8B LunarisLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsLlama 3 8B LunarisLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workKimi K2 0905A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps
  • Kimi K2.5 can replace Kimi K2 0905 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.35.
  • Kimi K2 0711 can replace Kimi K2 0905 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.72.
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Cheaper alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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MoonshotAI catalog

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Sao10K catalog

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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...

Llama 3 8B Lunaris

Lunaris 8B is a versatile generalist and roleplaying model based on Llama 3. It's a strategic merge of multiple models, designed to balance creativity with improved logic and general knowledge....