API credit: activate 15% extra credit on your first API top-up here. It is only for new users and is available until 1 October. It is added as extra credit on that first top-up.
If you want to see the tests in motion, check out the video.
The surprising conclusion is simple: Kimi Code wins, Kimi’s web app in Max mode looks very good, and OpenCode loses despite having skills and MCPs.
What Kimi K3 is
Kimi K3 is an open model with 2.8 trillion total parameters and 1 million tokens of context. It has native multimodality and is aimed at long-running coding tasks, large codebases, and tools.
Technically, it relies on Kimi Delta Attention and Attention Residuals.
You can find the official Kimi K3 information on Kimi’s blog.
How I tested it
I tested three approaches:
- The
kimi.comwebsite, comparing High and Max modes. - Kimi Code, the official CLI, using Auto in the test it won.
- OpenCode, with my usual skills and MCP configuration.
The material was four Three.js projects.
The results, one by one
1. The ball: OpenCode was the worst
I ended up using 2 prompts in 40 minutes. It was the weakest result: faulty physics, with the ball falling because the edges did not handle the situation properly.
2. The City of Arts and Sciences: Kimi Max web app
Kimi’s web app in Max mode needed 1 prompt and took 1 hour and 10 minutes. The result was very good, although it interpreted the scene rather than making an exact replica. It included flying, walking, an automatic tour, and day and night features.
3. The cars: Kimi High web app
Kimi’s web app in High mode needed 1 prompt and about 45 minutes. The result was correct and simple.
4. The character creator: Kimi Code wins
The winner was Kimi Code, using Auto, with 1 prompt and 20 minutes. It had detail, options, animations, randomization, and JSON saving. It started in YOLO, which auto-approves, but it asked questions. I changed it to Auto because Auto does not ask anything.
| Project | Tool | Mode | Prompts | Time | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball game | OpenCode | - | 2 | 40 min | Worst: faulty physics and the ball falls without edges |
| City of Arts and Sciences | Kimi web app | Max | 1 | 1 h 10 min | Very good, but an interpretation rather than an exact replica |
| Car game | Kimi web app | High | 1 | ~45 min | Correct and simple |
| Character creator | Kimi Code | Auto | 1 | 20 min | Winner: detail, options, animations, randomization, and JSON |
The complete prompts
Complete prompts, ready to copy.
Prompt 1: ball game, OpenCode
I want a 3D browser game with this mechanic: the player does NOT control the character. The player rotates the entire level with the mouse or arrow keys, and gravity pulls a ball through the scene. The goal is to get the ball to the finish without letting it fall over the edges.
Requirements:
- Web-based, running in the browser with no installation.
- Believable physics: the ball has inertia, rolls, and bounces in a satisfying way.
- World rotation must be smooth and have a tilt limit, so the player cannot cheat by rotating 90 degrees at once.
- A camera that follows the rotation without causing motion sickness.
- At least 3 levels with increasing difficulty: ramps, narrow platforms, and moving obstacles.
- Win and lose states, level restart, and a timer.
- A clean aesthetic with good lighting. I prefer a few well-lit elements over many ugly ones.
Before writing code, make a phased plan and tell me what you will build in each phase.Prompt 2: character creator, Kimi Code
I want a 3D character creator in the browser with Three.js. Voxel style with toon shading: flat colors, a black outline around the silhouette, and hard shadows without gradients. Cheerful and clean, nothing realistic.
Screen layout:
- In the center, the character stands on a circular platform, slowly rotating automatically and able to rotate by dragging with the mouse.
- On the right, an options panel organized into tabs.
- A simple background with sky and a few clouds, without making the scene busy.
Customization options I want:
- Body: skin tone, height, and build.
- Head: shape, hairstyle, and hair color.
- Face: eyes, eyebrows, mouth, and accessories such as glasses.
- Clothes: shirt, trousers, footwear, and extras such as a cape or belt, each with its own color.
- Every option applies immediately to the model, without reloading anything.
Animations:
- A dropdown to try animations: idle, walk, run, wave, dance, and jump.
- The animation loops on the character while I keep changing options.
- Smooth transitions between animations, without abrupt jumps.
Personalities:
- I want three or four personality presets, such as shy, cocky, energetic, and calm, and each one should change the idle pose and animation speed. It should show in how the character moves, not just in the clothes.
Extras:
- A button to randomize the entire character.
- A button to save the configuration and another to load it.
- It should run smoothly on a normal laptop without needing a powerful graphics card.
Before writing code, make a phased plan and tell me how you will structure the model so its parts are interchangeable.Prompt 3: City of Arts and Sciences, Kimi Max web app
I want a navigable 3D scene in the browser with Three.js: a stylized interpretation of the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. I am not looking for an exact replica; I want it to be recognizable at first glance and pleasant to explore.
The buildings I want, with their characteristic shapes:
- L'Hemisfèric: the eye shape, with its elongated dome and reflection in the water.
- The Science Museum: the long skeleton-like structure with those repeated white ribs.
- L'Àgora: the tall, enclosed almond-shaped volume.
- L'Umbracle: the walkway with arches.
- The Assut de l'Or Bridge: the bridge with its inclined white mast.
What defines the complex and must not be lost:
- Everything in bone white, with the characteristic bright white mosaic.
- Turquoise-blue sheets of water around the buildings, with reflections. Reflections are half the site's charm, so handle them well.
- The contrast between the organic curves and the clear sky.
Navigation:
- A free camera to fly through the scene with keyboard and mouse, with smooth movement.
- An alternative ground-level walking mode, at a person's height.
- A button for an automatic tour passing through the five buildings.
Environment:
- A slider to change the time of day, from dawn to night, with the lighting and sky color genuinely changing.
- At night, artificial lighting on the buildings and reflections in the water.
- Shadows that move according to the time.
Performance:
- It must run smoothly on a normal laptop. Prioritize looking good and running smoothly over adding lots of detail.
Before writing code, make a phased plan: first the ground and water, then the buildings one by one, followed by navigation, and finally lighting and the day-night cycle.Prompt 4: car game, Kimi High web app
I want a driving game in the browser with Three.js and believable vehicle physics.
- A car with suspension: it should dip under braking and lean in corners.
- Traction and drifting: it should be able to lose grip and slide in a controllable way.
- A closed circuit with corners of different radii, a couple of crests and dips, and curbs.
- A camera that follows the car with smooth delay and opens out a little at higher speed.
- Lap timer, best lap, and lap counter.
- Tire marks on the ground while drifting and dust particles when leaving the track.
- Keyboard controls with immediate response.
A satisfying driving feel matters more than physical accuracy. Before writing code, tell me how you will model suspension and grip.What I learned from the test
The first lesson is to split tasks up. In a complex project, separating the ground, navigation, lighting, or components helps.
For long tasks I would try Kimi Code. For day-to-day work, Kimi K2.7 Code may make sense if you want to spend less. K3 is above K2.7, at the level of GPT 5.6 Sol and Fable 5, with lower cost and equal or better results according to the briefing comparison.
I cannot give the cost of these projects: I use one subscription for many things and cannot separate how much belongs to each one. Making up a number would be worse. I only have the real times. I recommend a subscription over the API unless you need to integrate it.
The inspiration page has replay and prompts, and the VS Code replica example also appears there. I only tested 3D here, although K3 works for web and regular programming too.
Conclusion
Kimi K3 did not win every test. Max made a very good City of Arts and Sciences, High produced correct and simple cars, Kimi Code won with the character creator, and OpenCode was the worst despite its skills and MCPs.
For a complex task I would use K3. For everyday work I would look at Kimi K2.7 Code if you want to spend less. I would start with a subscription rather than the API. Copy a prompt, measure the time, and note the interventions.
API credit: get 15% extra credit on your first API top-up. New users only, available until 1 October.
My recommendation: try the character creator and compare it with your usual tool. If you need to integrate Kimi, use the link and check that additional credit.
What do you think?
Leave your opinion, question or suggestion. Comments are synced with GitHub Discussions .