Free to start

DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus vs MoonshotAI: Kimi K3

Try both on us. Starter credit covers your first requests, then one key routes DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus and Kimi K3. Switch by changing the model name.

Compare routesProviders, price, context, and policy posture in one view.

Use auto when uptime mattersKeep a primary model and let fallback handle provider failures.

Same API shapeUse the OpenAI client and set the model you want.

Practical read

Monthly evidence

DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus has the lower published input-plus-output rate. MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 has more Credits provider routes and the larger context window. There is not enough recent probe data to compare speed.

$1.31875/1MDeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus cheapest route

$11.97425/1MMoonshotAI: Kimi K3 cheapest route

not enough dataDeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus fastest measured p50 TTFT

980 msMoonshotAI: Kimi K3 fastest measured p50 TTFT via lyceum

The price comparison adds each route's rate for one million input tokens and one million output tokens; your cost depends on your input/output mix. Prices and live route measurements can change. Use the monthly reports when you need a stable evidence window, then run a small task-specific eval before choosing a production default.

DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 TerminusMoonshotAI: Kimi K3

Model iddeepseek/deepseek-v3.1-terminusmoonshotai/kimi-k3

Publisher DeepSeek Kimi

AI IQ — IQ 127#21

Context163,840 tokens1,048,576 tokens

Credits provider routes128

Cheapest route$1.31875/1M$11.97425/1M

Cached input$0.13715/1M$0.195175/1M to $1.897945/1M

Privacy postureprovider posture varieshas Confidential route (E2EE + ZDR)

Fastest measured p50 TTFTnot enough data980 ms via lyceum

Highest measured throughputnot enough data172 tok/s via sail-research

Recent route uptime rangenot enough data0.00% to 100.00%

Modes chat chat

DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus routes

Overview1 Credits routes

MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 routes

Overview28 Credits routes
PricingInput, cached input, and output rates
ProvidersAll serving providers

Related comparisons

Browse every comparison

MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 vs Z.ai: GLM 5.361 combined provider routes
MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 vs Z.ai: GLM 5.260 combined provider routes
MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 vs Z.ai: GLM 5.3 Flash60 combined provider routes
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4 Flash 0731 vs MoonshotAI: Kimi K354 combined provider routes
DeepSeek: DeepSeek V4.1 Flash vs MoonshotAI: Kimi K352 combined provider routes
MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 vs OpenAI: gpt-oss-120b52 combined provider routes
MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 vs Qwen: Qwen3.8 27B47 combined provider routes
MoonshotAI: Kimi K2.6 vs MoonshotAI: Kimi K345 combined provider routes

Production choice

Pick a default model. Keep fallback enabled.

TrustedRouter is useful when you know the model you want, but still need provider rollover, budget limits, usage records, and a prompt path you can verify.

OpenAI clientPython

client = OpenAI(
    base_url="https://api.trustedrouter.com/v1",
    api_key="sk-tr-v1-..."
)

response = client.chat.completions.create(
    model="deepseek/deepseek-v3.1-terminus",
    messages=messages,
)

Questions

Which should I use, DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus or MoonshotAI: Kimi K3?

Is DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus or MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 cheaper?

The current cheapest TrustedRouter route is $1.31875/1M for DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus and $11.97425/1M for MoonshotAI: Kimi K3. The comparison uses current catalog prices and updates as provider pricing changes.

Is DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus or MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 faster?

Current measured p50 time to first token is not enough data for DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus and 980 ms for MoonshotAI: Kimi K3. These are routed probe measurements, not vendor-advertised speeds, and update as new samples arrive.

Can I test DeepSeek: DeepSeek V3.1 Terminus and MoonshotAI: Kimi K3 with the same API?

Yes. Use the same OpenAI-compatible TrustedRouter base URL and API key, then change only the model id between deepseek/deepseek-v3.1-terminus and moonshotai/kimi-k3. This makes side-by-side evals possible without maintaining two provider integrations.