{"name":"Kimi API","tagline":"Moonshot OpenAI-compatible API — K3 1M context, K2.7 Code, pay-as-you-go after a $1 top-up.","url":"https://platform.kimi.ai","category":"models-api","pricing":"paid","price_note":"no free API calls; K3 unlocked after ≥$1 top-up; K3 $0.30 cache-hit / $3 input / $15 output per 1M; K2.7 Code $0.19 / $0.95 / $4 per 1M; K2.6 $0.16 / $0.95 / $4","free_tier":false,"open_source":false,"api":true,"self_host":false,"models_used":["kimi-k3","kimi-k2-7-code"],"model_routing":"locked","verdict":"situational","verdict_text":"The Moonshot token meter, not Kimi Code CLI and not kimi.com chat. OpenAI SDK against api.moonshot.ai. K3 is flat $3/$15 with a cheap cache hit; coding SKU is K2.7 Code. Rate limits follow cumulative top-up. China-hosted — same compliance question as other CN labs. Not field-called here.","limitations":["K3 is gated behind a successful top-up (docs: minimum $1); this is not a free playground.","Rate limits scale with lifetime recharge, not with a published unlimited Pro seat.","Docs currently warn that web_search is being updated — don't build on that tool yet.","Separate from Kimi Code membership (~$19–$39) and from the MIT CLI."],"strengths":["OpenAI-compatible API with K3 1M context and K2.7 Code SKU.","Cheap cache-hit pricing on K3.","Coding SKU is clearly separated from general chat."],"use_for":["Existing OpenAI SDK projects that want to route to Moonshot models.","High-context tasks that fit K3's 1M token window."],"skip_when":["You need a free playground before committing budget.","China-hosted compliance is a hard no for your data.","You want to build on the web_search tool before it stabilizes."],"receipts":["https://platform.kimi.ai/docs/pricing/chat-k3","https://platform.kimi.ai/docs/overview"],"affiliate":"none","evidence_tier":"source-verified","momentum":"blueshift","featured":false,"last_verified":"2026-08-19","observed_by":"whysanesanders","slug":"kimi-api","canonical_url":"https://noemium.com/tools/kimi-api/","attribution":"Noemium catalog data is licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). See https://noemium.com/method/ for how entries are verified."}