How does Kimi compare with the assistants people weigh it against most: ChatGPT, Perplexity and DeepSeek? This page puts all four side by side in plain words, then points you to a full comparison for each one.
Each assistant is best known for something different.
Long tasks and built-in tools
Moonshot AI, China
The all-rounder
OpenAI, USA
Answers with sources
Perplexity, USA
Very low prices
DeepSeek, China
We are a Kimi guide site, so we know Kimi best. We have tried to be fair to all four. We are not affiliated with any of these companies.
| Feature | Kimi | ChatGPT | Perplexity | DeepSeek |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The basics | ||||
| Made by | Moonshot AI, China | OpenAI, USA | Perplexity, USA | DeepSeek, China |
| Best known for | Long tasks, agents and open models | The all-round assistant | Search answers with sources | Very low prices |
| Top model | Kimi K3 | GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Sol | Its own Sonar, plus other companies' models on paid plans | DeepSeek V4 Pro |
| Can you download the model? | Yes. Open weights | No | No | Yes. Open weights |
| Price | ||||
| Free option | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes. The app has no paid plan |
| First paid plan, a month | $19 | $8 Go, or $20 Plus | $20 Pro | None |
| Top plan, a month | $199 | $200 Pro | $200 Max | None |
| API, main low-cost model, per million tokens (in / out) | $0.95 / $4 for Kimi K2.6 | $2 / $10 for GPT-6.1 Sol | Separate Sonar API | $0.30 / $1.20 for V4.1 Flash at peak hours |
| API, top model (in / out) | $3 / $15 for Kimi K3 | $10 / $50 for GPT-6 Astra | Separate Sonar API | $1.32 / $3.96 for V4 Pro at peak hours |
| Research | ||||
| Sources shown | In Deep Research reports and web search | In deep research and web search | On every answer | With web search |
| Long research reports | Yes. 10 to 25 minutes | Yes. Limits by plan | Yes. Usually under 3 minutes | Not confirmed |
| Tools and apps | ||||
| Built-in tools | Docs, Slides, Sheets, Websites, Kimi Code, agents | Codex, memory, image creation, custom GPTs | Search, Research, Labs, Comet browser | Chat, search and file upload |
| Coding assistant | Kimi Code | Codex | Not its focus | None of its own |
| Where it runs | Web, Windows, Mac, Android, iPhone | Web, desktop, Android, iPhone | Web, Android, iPhone | Web, Android, iPhone |
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every column.
Checked on 8 October 2026. Kimi details come from Moonshot's own pages. ChatGPT models and API prices come from OpenAI's pages, and DeepSeek API prices from DeepSeek's price page. ChatGPT plan prices, Perplexity prices and DeepSeek app details come from independent trackers and guides. All four companies change plans often, so check their sites before you pay. "Not confirmed" means our sources did not say either way.
For app users, three of the four charge about the same for their main paid plan. DeepSeek is the odd one out: its app has no paid plan at all.
Entry and main paid plans, in US dollars a month. All four also have a free option.
Kimi counts heavy work in monthly credits. ChatGPT and Perplexity set limits on each feature. Compare what you will actually use, not just the price.
DeepSeek is the cheapest per request. Kimi K2.6 is next. Kimi K3 costs more than GPT-6.1 Sol but far less than GPT-6 Astra.
Try your real tasks on the free options first. Pay only for the one where you hit a limit.
| If you want to | Why | Our pick |
|---|---|---|
| Check a fact quickly | Sources on every answer, in seconds | Perplexity |
| Get one long research report | Asks what you mean first, then writes a structured report | Kimi |
| Turn research into slides or a spreadsheet | Tools for each are built in | Kimi |
| Build a website without coding | Builds it and publishes it with one click | Kimi |
| Have one assistant for everyday life | Polished, with memory and image creation | ChatGPT |
| Write and edit text | All four write well. Try your own voice in each | Any |
| Get coding help | Both have a coding assistant that works in your project | Kimi or ChatGPT |
| Chat for free with no upsell | The app is free and has no paid plan | DeepSeek |
| Build an app on a tight budget | The lowest API prices of the four | DeepSeek |
| Host the model yourself | Both publish open weights | Kimi or DeepSeek |
On a small screen, swipe the table sideways to see every column.
These picks are our judgement from the features and prices above, not test scores.
The closest match. Both are full assistants with research, writing and coding. Prices are almost the same.
A question of pace. Perplexity answers fast with sources. Kimi takes longer and writes a full report.
Tools against price. Kimi does more out of the box. DeepSeek is simpler and much cheaper for developers.
Want to judge Kimi on its own first? Read the Kimi AI review.
Tick every line that sounds like you. The result updates as you go.
A simple guide based on the table above, not a test. Nothing you tick is saved or sent anywhere.
Rankings and reviews go out of date within weeks. Ten minutes of your own testing tells you more. These rules work for any assistant, including ones not on this page.
Paste exactly the same words into each one.
Start a new chat for every test.
Compare free with free, or paid with paid.
Use a real task of yours, not a trick question.
Open the sources and run the code. Confident is not the same as correct.
Note how long each took and how much you had to fix.
Ready-made tests: the Kimi vs ChatGPT page has nine prompts for research, writing and coding with a scorecard. They work for comparing any two assistants.