API cost decision in 10 seconds

NewKimi K3.1 Pro vs Fugu Max

Pick Fugu Max for lower cost; pick Kimi K3.1 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

Page updated: 2026-10-23T19:08:09Z Data confirmed: 2026-10-23T20:08:09Z Prices normalized to USD per 1M tokens Sample workload: 1M input + 500K output

Budget verdict

Pick Fugu Max for lower cost; pick Kimi K3.1 Pro only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Fugu Max is estimated at $5 vs $7 for Kimi K3.1 Pro, saving $2 (28.6% lower).

Cost-first pickFugu Max

Context-first pickKimi K3.1 Pro

Sample savings$228.6%

10x traffic gap$20

Kimi K3.1 Pro has more context, but Fugu Max saves $2 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $20. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Fugu Max stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shape	Token mix	Better pick	Kimi K3.1 Pro	Fugu Max
Input-heavy / RAG	5M input + 500K output	Fugu Max	$15	$13
Balanced workload	1M input + 1M output	Fugu Max	$12	$8
Output-heavy chatbot	1M input + 5M output	Fugu Max	$52	$32

Cheaper input Tie $2 vs $2 / 1M

Both models report the same input price at $2 per 1M tokens.

Cheaper output Fugu Max $10 vs $6 / 1M

Fugu Max is $4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).

Larger context Kimi K3.1 Pro 1.05M vs 1M

Kimi K3.1 Pro has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).

Sample workload Fugu Max $7 vs $5

Fugu Max is $2 cheaper on the standard workload (28.6% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.

Monthly input tokens Monthly output tokens

Kimi K3.1 Pro Calculating… Estimated API cost

Fugu Max 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

both models tie on input price; Fugu Max has the lower output price; Kimi K3.1 Pro offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Fugu Max is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $7 for Kimi K3.1 Pro and $5 for Fugu Max.

Best Fit

Choose Kimi K3.1 Pro when you care most about larger context window.

Choose Fugu Max when you care most about lower output-token price.

Decision Notes

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Fugu Max is estimated at $5 vs $7 for Kimi K3.1 Pro, saving $2 (28.6% lower).
Fugu Max is $2 cheaper on the standard workload (28.6% lower).
Both models report the same input price at $2 per 1M tokens.
Fugu Max is $4 cheaper per 1M output tokens (40% lower; 1.67x difference).
Kimi K3.1 Pro has 48.58K more context (1.05x larger).

Head-to-Head Specs

Feature	NewKimi K3.1 Pro (MoonshotAI)	Fugu Max (Sakana)
Input Price prompt tokens per 1M	$2	$2
Completion Price per 1M tokens	$10	$6
Sample Workload Cost 1M input + 500K output	$7	$5
Context Window	1.05M	1M
Release Date	2026-10-23	2026-09-11

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use case	Better pick	Why
Budget-constrained production	Fugu Max	On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Fugu Max is estimated at $5 vs $7 for Kimi K3.1 Pro, saving $2 (28.6% lower).
High-volume input processing	Tie	Lower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbots	Fugu Max	Lower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document work	Kimi K3.1 Pro	A larger context window leaves more room for retrieved passages, conversation history, or source files.

Related Alternatives

Same-provider lower-cost swaps

Kimi K2.7 Code (free) can replace Kimi K3.1 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Kimi K2.6 (free) can replace Kimi K3.1 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
Kimi K2 0711 can replace Kimi K3.1 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.72.
Kimi K2.5 can replace Kimi K3.1 Pro when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.75.

Larger context near this budget

Grok 4.20 Multi-Agent offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Grok 4.20 offers 2M context with $2.5 sample workload cost.
Llama 4 Scout offers 1.31M context with $0.25 sample workload cost.
MiMo-V2.6-Flash offers 1.05M context with $0.28 sample workload cost.

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Cheaper alternatives

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Larger context alternatives

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Provider catalogs

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

Open provider hubs

MoonshotAI catalog

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

Open MoonshotAI models

Sakana catalog

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

Open Sakana models

Kimi K3.1 Pro

Kimi K3.1 Pro is Moonshot AI's flagship open-weight multimodal reasoning model and a post-trained successor to Kimi K3, with a 1M-token context window. It is built for long-horizon coding, 3D...

Fugu Max

Fugu Max is the cost-performance model in Sakana AI's Fugu family. Rather than a single monolithic model, Fugu is a learned multi-agent orchestration system: a language model trained to route...