People often search for a "Kimi API subscription" and find three different things: a monthly membership, a pay-as-you-go API, and a coding key that sits between the two. This page explains each one in plain words and helps you pick the right way to pay.
A membership, the API and the Kimi Code key are paid for in different ways.
Moonshot's price page says the API is billed "on a pay-as-you-go basis, with no subscription plan". You top up a balance and pay for what you use. The monthly plans you see on kimi.com are for the Kimi app, not the API. There is one in-between option for coding tools, called the Kimi Code key, which comes with a membership.
$0 to $199 a month
From $1, per token
Included from $19 a month
| Feature | Kimi membership | Kimi API | Kimi Code key |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Monthly or yearly | Top up, then pay per token | Included in a paid membership |
| Is it a subscription? | Yes | No | Yes, through the membership |
| Where you sign up | kimi.com | platform.kimi.ai | kimi.com, then the Kimi Code console |
| Made for | Using the Kimi app | Building your own app or product | Coding in terminal and editor tools |
| Web address your code calls | None | api.moonshot.ai/v1 | api.kimi.com/coding/v1 |
| Model names | Chosen in the app | kimi-k3, kimi-k2.6 and others | kimi-for-coding |
| Limit | Monthly credits | Your balance, plus speed limits by top-up | About 300 to 1,200 requests every 5 hours |
| Free option | Yes, the Adagio plan | No free tier | No |
| Unused allowance | Expires each month | Balance stays until used | Resets on a rolling basis |
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every column.
API details are from Moonshot's platform price page. Kimi Code details are from Kimi's help centre. Both read on 8 October 2026.
Pick the line that sounds most like you.
A simple guide, not a rule. Nothing you choose is saved or sent anywhere.
This is the real "Kimi API". You do not subscribe to anything. You add money to a balance and each request takes a little from it.
Create an account at platform.kimi.ai and add credit. There is no monthly fee.
Text going in and text coming out are counted. A token is a small piece of a word.
New accounts start slow, at 3 requests a minute. Limits rise as your total top-ups grow.
| Model | Input | Repeated input | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
kimi-k3 | $3.00 | $0.30 | $15.00 |
kimi-k2.7-code | $0.95 | $0.19 | $4.00 |
kimi-k2.7-code-highspeed | $1.90 | $0.38 | $8.00 |
kimi-k2.6 | $0.95 | $0.16 | $4.00 |
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every column.
US dollars per million tokens, before tax, from Moonshot's price page on 8 October 2026. "Repeated input" is text the model has seen before, which Moonshot calls a cache hit. Kimi K3 also charges for saving text to the cache.
Guides: setup and first request · full API pricing · enterprise pricing
If what you want is "a flat monthly price for calling Kimi from my tools", this is it, with one big condition: it is for coding. Kimi Code is included in paid Kimi memberships, and members can create a key for coding tools.
https://api.kimi.com/coding/v1https://api.kimi.com/coding/kimi-for-coding, and kimi-for-coding-highspeed on Allegretto ($39) and aboveHigher plans get a bigger coding allowance. Moonshot has also said it is moving Kimi Code to its own coding plans, so check kimi.com/code for the current terms.
Enter a rough guess of your use. Then compare the result with a flat monthly price.
Worked out as 30 days at list prices, before tax and without discounts for repeated input. Coding tools resend a lot of the same text, so real bills are often lower than this. The comparison only makes sense for coding use, because the Kimi Code key is not for other kinds of work.
api.kimi.com/coding. Platform keys go with api.moonshot.ai.api.moonshot.cn and do not work on the global one.kimi-k3. The Kimi Code key uses kimi-for-coding.More fixes: Kimi AI not working.
Plenty of developers have a membership and API credit at the same time. A sensible split looks like this:
Your own daily work: chat, research, and coding in your editor with the Kimi Code key.
Anything that runs without you: your product, your website's chat helper, scheduled scripts.
Use separate keys, name them clearly, and never put either kind of key in code that users can read.