Pairwise benchmark snapshot · Aug 16, 2026
This page compares Kimi K3 (Moonshot) and Qwen3.8 27B (Alibaba) using the latest snapshots we have as of Aug 16, 2026. On preference Elo, Kimi K3 is ahead by 130 points (1,528 vs 1,398; seed-bootstrap (Aug 1, 2026)). On SWE-bench coding, Kimi K3 resolves 73.8% versus 58.8% (seed-bootstrap (Aug 1, 2026)). Qwen3.8 27B streams faster (152 tok/s) while Qwen3.8 27B is the cheaper output token ($3.2/1M). Kimi K3 has the larger context window (1M tokens). Every cell below is a dated snapshot from a named public source — we do not invent missing scores, and we do not run SWE-bench ourselves.
Moonshot
Kimi K3Moonshot AI frontier flagship reasoning and agent swarm model with 256k context and top-tier SWE-bench coding capability.
Alibaba
Qwen3.8 27BAlibaba open-weight 27B drop dated Aug 14 2026. Dense enough to self-host; not a frontier MoE.
Instant pairwise benchmark recalculation across 400+ LLMs
Category wins across intelligence, speed, and pricing efficiency.
Preference Elo, Coding proficiency, SWE-bench & LiveBench accuracy
Generation throughput and time to first token responsiveness
Cost per million tokens and max context window length
Each spoke is a skill. Farther from the center is better (0–100th percentile). Tap any dot to inspect details.
130 pts advantage
84 tok/s faster
$11.80/1M cheaper
Simulate monthly production API costs based on published $/1M tokens.
Qwen3.8 27B is estimated to save $266.25/month ($3,195/year).
Higher SWE-bench (73.8%).
Lower output list price ($3.2/1M).
Lower TTFT (140 ms).
Larger window (1M).
Kimi K3 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog.
| Target Workload | Recommended Pick | Evaluation Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Repo / coding agents | Kimi K3 | Higher SWE-bench (73.8%). |
| High-volume chat | Qwen3.8 27B | Lower output list price ($3.2/1M). |
| Voice / low-latency UI | Qwen3.8 27B | Lower TTFT (140 ms). |
| Long-document RAG | Kimi K3 | Larger window (1M). |
| Screenshots / vision | Kimi K3 | Kimi K3 is the side marked multimodal in the catalog. |
Alibaba open-weight 27B drop. Local/open-weight lists should see it. It will not win frontier-agents.
Jun 2026. The Kimi vs GPT hub remaps to the top Moonshot Elo vs top OpenAI Elo.
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The real PNG is generated at /compare/kimi-k3-vs-qwen-3-8-27b/opengraph-image for crawlers.
Verified head-to-head card