Best for
Best for reasoning, math and coding on a free app, or very low-cost API access.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
AI Chatbots & Assistants Comparison
DeepSeek vs. Kimi
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for working through very long documents and research in one pass.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | DeepSeek | Kimi |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free web and app; paid API The API is billed per token. | Free API billed per token through Moonshot's platform. |
| Free trial | Free web and mobile app | Free to use |
| Commercial use | Yes | Not stated |
| Output | Chat, reasoning, math and code | Long-context chat with web search, files and tool use |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Ecosystem | Open-weight models, free web and mobile apps, and a very low-cost API; few office integrations | Kimi model family and Kimi Code CLI; flagship model as open weights |
| Live web search and sources | Yes, web search with cited sources | Yes, built-in web search |
| Files and long documents | Yes, document uploads (PDF, DOCX, TXT and code) and image reading | Yes, file parsing with an ultra-long context window |
| Images, voice and video | Reads images; no image, audio or video generation | Yes, image and document input |
| Coding help | Yes, strong at coding and math | Yes, plus a Kimi Code command-line agent |
| Model choice | Yes, DeepSeek-V4 models (Flash and Pro) with a DeepThink thinking toggle | Yes on the platform: Kimi K3, Kimi K2.7 Code and Kimi K2.6, with thinking and non-thinking modes on K2.6 and a low, high or max reasoning effort on K3 |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Onboarding | Not stated | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
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Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price DeepSeek Free web and app; paid API Kimi Free
- Free trial DeepSeek Free web and mobile app Kimi Free to use
- Company size DeepSeek Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Kimi Freelancers, Small and mid-sized
- Output DeepSeek Chat, reasoning, math and code Kimi Long-context chat with web search, files and tool use
- Ecosystem DeepSeek Open-weight models, free web and mobile apps, and a very low-cost API; few office integrations Kimi Kimi model family and Kimi Code CLI; flagship model as open weights
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
DeepSeek
Strengths
- Free to use in the web and mobile app
- Strong at reasoning, math and code
- Open-weight models and very low API pricing
Limitations
- Fewer office and ecosystem integrations than the big incumbents
- No native image generation
Kimi
Strengths
- Very long context for large documents
- Free to use, flagship model open-weight
- Kimi Code agent for terminal-based coding
Limitations
- Smaller ecosystem outside its home market
- Fewer third-party integrations than major assistants
Plans
Pricing
DeepSeek
- Free $0 Web and mobile app.
- API Per token Billed per token; see the vendor's API pricing.
Kimi
- Free $0 Web and mobile.
- API (pay-as-you-go) Not stated Billed per token through Moonshot's platform.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
DeepSeek
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Kimi
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
DeepSeek https://www.deepseek.com · no check date recorded yet
Kimi https://www.kimi.com · no check date recorded yet
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.