API cost decision in 10 seconds

🔥Kimi K3 vs Qianfan-OCR-Fast

Pick Qianfan-OCR-Fast for lower cost; pick Kimi K3 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 Qianfan-OCR-Fast for lower cost; pick Kimi K3 only if the larger context window matters more.

On the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qianfan-OCR-Fast is estimated at $2.08 vs $10.5 for Kimi K3, saving $8.41 (80.1% lower).

Cost-first pickQianfan-OCR-Fast
Context-first pickKimi K3
Sample savings$8.4180.1%
10x traffic gap$84.15

Kimi K3 has more context, but Qianfan-OCR-Fast saves $8.41 on the standard workload. At 10x that traffic, the same price gap is about $84.15. Use the calculator below to replace the sample workload with your own token volume.

Cost sensitivity

Workload Sensitivity

Same prices, different token mixes.

Qianfan-OCR-Fast stays cheaper across input-heavy, balanced, and output-heavy sample workloads.

Workload shapeToken mixBetter pickKimi K3Qianfan-OCR-Fast
Input-heavy / RAG5M input + 500K outputQianfan-OCR-Fast$22.5$4.81
Balanced workload1M input + 1M outputQianfan-OCR-Fast$18$3.49
Output-heavy chatbot1M input + 5M outputQianfan-OCR-Fast$78$14.73
Cheaper input Qianfan-OCR-Fast $3 vs $0.68 / 1M

Qianfan-OCR-Fast is $2.32 cheaper per 1M input tokens (77.3% lower; 4.41x difference).

Cheaper output Qianfan-OCR-Fast $15 vs $2.81 / 1M

Qianfan-OCR-Fast is $12.19 cheaper per 1M output tokens (81.3% lower; 5.34x difference).

Larger context Kimi K3 1.05M vs 65.54K

Kimi K3 has 983.04K more context (16x larger).

Sample workload Qianfan-OCR-Fast $10.5 vs $2.08

Qianfan-OCR-Fast is $8.41 cheaper on the standard workload (80.1% lower).

Estimate your workload cost

Your Workload Cost

Prices are normalized to USD per 1M tokens.
Kimi K3 Calculating… Estimated API cost
Qianfan-OCR-Fast 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

Qianfan-OCR-Fast has the lower input price; Qianfan-OCR-Fast has the lower output price; Kimi K3 offers the larger context window. For the 1M input plus 500K output sample, Qianfan-OCR-Fast is cheaper for the standard workload.

For a 1M input token plus 500K output token workload, the estimated API cost is $10.5 for Kimi K3 and $2.08 for Qianfan-OCR-Fast.

Best Fit

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

Choose Qianfan-OCR-Fast 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, Qianfan-OCR-Fast is estimated at $2.08 vs $10.5 for Kimi K3, saving $8.41 (80.1% lower).
  • Qianfan-OCR-Fast is $8.41 cheaper on the standard workload (80.1% lower).
  • Qianfan-OCR-Fast is $2.32 cheaper per 1M input tokens (77.3% lower; 4.41x difference).
  • Qianfan-OCR-Fast is $12.19 cheaper per 1M output tokens (81.3% lower; 5.34x difference).
  • Kimi K3 has 983.04K more context (16x larger).
Head-to-Head Specs
Feature🔥Kimi K3
(MoonshotAI)
Qianfan-OCR-Fast
(Baidu)
Input Price
prompt tokens per 1M
$3$0.68
Completion Price
per 1M tokens
$15$2.81
Sample Workload Cost
1M input + 500K output
$10.5$2.08
Context Window1.05M65.54K
Release Date
Popularity#14

Use-Case Decision Matrix

Use caseBetter pickWhy
Budget-constrained productionQianfan-OCR-FastOn the standard 1M input plus 500K output workload, Qianfan-OCR-Fast is estimated at $2.08 vs $10.5 for Kimi K3, saving $8.41 (80.1% lower).
High-volume input processingQianfan-OCR-FastLower prompt-token price matters most when prompts, retrieved passages, or documents dominate the bill.
Long responses and chatbotsQianfan-OCR-FastLower output-token price matters most when assistants generate many completion tokens.
RAG or long-document workKimi K3A 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 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Kimi K2.6 (free) can replace Kimi K3 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $0.
  • Kimi K2.5 can replace Kimi K3 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.57.
  • Kimi K2 0711 can replace Kimi K3 when lower sample workload cost matters most: $1.72.

Cheaper alternatives

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

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Larger context alternatives

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

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Provider catalogs

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MoonshotAI catalog

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

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Baidu catalog

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

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Kimi K3

Kimi K3 is a 2.8T parameter open-weight multimodal reasoning model from Moonshot AI. It is suited for complex coding, knowledge work, and long-horizon agentic workflows, and is particularly strong at...

Qianfan-OCR-Fast

Qianfan-OCR-Fast is a domain-specific multimodal large model purpose-built for OCR. By leveraging specialized OCR training data while preserving versatile multimodal intelligence, it provides a powerful performance upgrade over Qianfan-OCR.