DeepSeek vs 
Moonshot AI
Verdict
- Moonshot AI's flagship leads: Kimi K3 at 66.5 vs Deepseek v4 Pro at 60.3.
- Moonshot AI has the better model in 3 of 4 price bands.
- DeepSeek's fastest ranked model (Deepseek v4 Flash Vision, 119 tok/s) beats Moonshot AI's (Kimi K2 Thinking, 119 tok/s).
- DeepSeek publishes more open-weights models (10 vs 7).
- Moonshot AI ships more often: one model every 82 days against every 84.
Best model per price band
Each provider’s highest-index model below the price ceiling. Purple marks the winner of the band.
| Price band | DeepSeek | Moonshot AI |
|---|---|---|
| Under $0.50/M | DeepSeek V4 Flash high 59.3$0.168/M | – |
| Under $2/M | DeepSeek V4 Pro high 60.0$0.548/M | Kimi K2.6 60.6$1.71/M |
| Under $10/M | DeepSeek V4 Pro high 60.0$0.548/M | Kimi K3 66.5$6.00/M |
| Any price | DeepSeek V4 Pro high 60.0$0.548/M | Kimi K3 66.5$6.00/M |
Line-up
| Metric | DeepSeek | Moonshot AI |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship index | 60.3 | 66.5 |
| Ranked models | 14 | 8 |
| Open-weights models | 10 | 7 |
| Cheapest ranked, $/M | $0.068 | $1.07 |
| Fastest ranked, tok/s | 119 | 119 |
| Release cadence, days | 84 | 82 |
| Last release | 21 Aug 2026 | 16 Jul 2026 |
| Next expected | 10 Oct 2026 – 16 Dec 2026 | 3 Sept 2026 – 7 Nov 2026 |
Data as of 9 Sept 2026. See DeepSeek and Moonshot AI in full.