Kimi became one of the most visited AI chatbots of 2026, with about 29 million visits in June 2026 according to Exploding Topics. It is known for long-context reading, strong coding through Kimi Code, and agent features such as Agent Swarm, Deep Research, slides and website building. Its K3 model is also one of the largest open-weight models ever released.

This guide explains how to use Kimi’s free chat step by step, what the new October 2026 plans include, how to use the K3 API, whether you can run Kimi locally, and what to know about privacy before you share data.

What is Kimi AI?

Kimi AI is a family of AI models and a consumer assistant built by Moonshot AI, founded in Beijing in 2023. The Kimi app offers chat, research, document and slide creation, coding and multi-agent tasks, while the Kimi API lets developers build on the same models.

Kimi’s history goes back to October 2023, when it launched as a long-document assistant. Its K2 model (July 2025) was the first major open-weight release, followed by K2 Thinking, K2.5, K2.6 and the K2.7 Code model before K3. For context on how models like this compare, read open-source AI models.

How do you use Kimi AI for free?

You use Kimi for free by creating an account on kimi.com or the Kimi mobile app and staying on the Adagio plan, which needs no credit card. The free plan allows one agent task at a time, two scheduled tasks, two projects and 500 MB of storage.

1. Open Kimi. Go to kimi.com in a browser or install the Kimi app on Android or iPhone.
2. Sign up. Register with a supported phone number or email. Sign-up is region-gated, so some numbers and email domains may not work.
3. Start chatting. Type a question or paste a long document. Kimi is especially good at summarizing long PDFs and reports.
4. Upload files and images. Attach PDFs, spreadsheets or photos; K3 understands images natively.
5. Try agent features. Use Deep Research for cited reports, or ask Kimi to create a presentation or a simple website.
6. Save work in projects. Projects keep related files and chats together; the free plan allows two.

How much does Kimi cost?

Kimi’s consumer plans cost $0 to $199 a month after the 18 October 2026 renaming, and the API is billed separately by tokens. All paid plans share one monthly credit pool that does not roll over.

These USD prices come from a third-party tracker dated 18 October 2026; Kimi’s official help center lists China pricing in yuan (Go at 49 yuan up to Ultra at 1,399 yuan a month). Older plan names such as Moderato and Allegretto now apply only to existing subscribers. Compare total spend across tools in our AI subscription prices comparison.

How do you use the Kimi K3 API?

You use the Kimi K3 API by creating a developer account on Moonshot AI’s platform, adding credit, generating an API key and calling the K3 model ID, usually through an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. The steps match most modern AI APIs.

1. Create a platform account on Moonshot AI’s developer platform (separate from your app membership).
2. Top up credit and generate an API key; store it in an environment variable.
3. Call the K3 model using the model ID from the docs. Many OpenAI SDK tools work by changing the base URL and key.
4. Set reasoning effort. K3 has a reasoning effort control; use lower effort for simple jobs to save output tokens.
5. Use tools. K3 supports native multi-step tool calling for agent workflows.

Kimi K3 API cost example

At $3 per million input tokens and $15 per million output tokens, a job with 2 million input tokens and 400,000 output tokens costs 2 x $3 = $6 plus 0.4 x $15 = $6, so $12. That is far more than budget models; the same job on GPT-6 Luna ($0.10 and $0.50) would cost $0.20 plus $0.20, so $0.40. Use K3 where its quality matters and route simple work elsewhere, as explained in model routing and our LLM API pricing comparison.

What is Kimi best at?

Kimi is best at long-document analysis, coding and agentic tasks that need many steps, according to Moonshot AI’s own benchmarks and independent testing. Artificial Analysis gave K3 an Elo of 1547 on its long-horizon knowledge work evaluation, reported by AI Weekly in July 2026.

• Long documents: its 1 million token context fits several books or a large codebase at once. See context windows explained.
• Coding: Kimi Code is a terminal coding tool included with Plus and higher, with a rolling 5-hour usage limit. Compare with the best AI coding assistants.
• Agent Swarm: runs parallel sub-agents for big research or build jobs, similar to the tools in our best AI agents list.
• Presentations and sites: Kimi can draft slide decks and deploy simple websites from a prompt.

Benchmark figures from Moonshot AI are self-reported, so test Kimi on your own tasks before switching.

Can you run Kimi K3 locally?

In theory yes, because Kimi K3’s weights are open, but in practice no for most people: a 2.8-trillion-parameter model needs data-center hardware with many high-end GPUs. Individuals who want a local model should use smaller open models instead.

Good local choices include smaller Qwen and DeepSeek models that run in Ollama on a laptop; see how to run an LLM locally and our guide to Qwen AI. Businesses can also use K3 through third-party providers that host the open weights.

Is Kimi AI safe to use?

Kimi is safe for general and public tasks, but because Moonshot AI is based in China, treat the hosted app like DeepSeek: do not upload confidential client files, ID documents or trade secrets. Read the privacy policy, use a separate email, and delete chats you do not need.

The same concerns and safer options we cover in Is DeepSeek safe? apply here. If privacy is critical, use the open weights through a host in your region or pick a provider with business data controls.

Frequently asked questions

Get started with Kimi

Try Kimi’s free Adagio plan for long documents and research tasks, and compare its answers with your current assistant on the same prompts. Developers should test K3 on a small budget before committing, given its higher token price. Plans, prices and model availability change quickly, so confirm details on Kimi’s official pricing and developer pages.

Sources

• Membership pricing and plan overview, Kimi Help Center, checked 22 October 2026
• Kimi pricing, GeoToolbox, October 2026, checked 22 October 2026
• Kimi model timeline, ScriptByAI, checked 22 October 2026
• Moonshot ships Kimi K3 at 2.8T parameters, AI Weekly, July 2026, checked 22 October 2026

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