THE VERDICT
● Stay on Moderato ($19) if you mostly chat, write and do occasional coding. K3 access is the thing you were paying for and you have it.
● Move to Allegretto ($39) if you run agents daily or use Kimi Code seriously. Agent Swarm and 5x Kimi Code are the whole difference.
● Do neither if you have not tried K2.6 in chat first. It is free for all users and does not draw on credits at all.
The five tiers, so the two in question make sense
| Tier |
Monthly |
Annual |
What it unlocks |
| Adagio |
Free |
Free |
K2.6 in chat, unlimited, no credit draw |
| Moderato |
$19 |
$15 |
K3 access, standard credit pool |
| Allegretto |
$39 |
$31 |
Agent Swarm, Kimi Code at 5x |
| Allegro |
$99 |
$79 |
Higher ceilings across the board |
| Vivace |
$199 |
$159 |
Top tier, heaviest usage |
What actually separates them
THE ONE QUESTION
Do you run agents, or do you talk to a model? Moderato covers the second job completely. Allegretto exists for the first. If you are not using Agent Swarm or Kimi Code, the extra 20 dollars buys you headroom you are not consuming.
The upgrade test is usage, not ambition. Give Moderato a month. If you hit credit ceilings mid-task rather than at the end of the month, Allegretto is the fix. If you finish the month with credits unspent, you have your answer.
Two things about the credit model
Membership and API are separate purchases. Paying for Moderato grants no API tokens. Buying API credit grants no membership features. This catches more people than any other detail in Kimi pricing.
The 1M context window sits on higher tiers. It is not on Moderato. If long-context work is why you are here, price Allegro rather than Allegretto.
Against the $20 Western tiers
Moderato at 19 dollars undercuts ChatGPT Plus, Claude Pro and Google AI Pro, all at roughly 20. What it gives up is ecosystem: fewer integrations, less third-party tooling, a smaller community. What it gains is agent tooling that none of those offer at any consumer tier, once you reach Allegretto.
On API the same pattern holds. K3 at 3 and 15 dollars per million undercuts Claude Opus 5 at 5 and 25, and GPT-5.6 Sol at 5 and 30, on both input and output.
Who should pick which
| If you are... |
Pick |
| Curious and not yet paying |
Adagio. K2.6 chat is free and does not touch credits |
| Writing, analysis, occasional code |
Moderato at $19, or $15 annually |
| Running agents most days |
Allegretto at $39 for Agent Swarm |
| Coding in Kimi Code daily |
Allegretto. The 5x multiplier is the point |
| Needing the 1M context window |
Allegro. It is not on either of these two |
FAQ
Is Moderato enough for coding?
For occasional work, yes — K3 access is included. For daily use of Kimi Code, the 5x multiplier on Allegretto is what you are actually buying.
Do credits roll over?
Check current terms before assuming. Subscription credit pools in this category generally reset rather than accumulate.
Does the subscription include API access?
No. Membership and API are billed separately, and neither grants the other.
Is annual billing worth it?
It saves roughly 20 percent — $15 against $19 on Moderato, $31 against $39 on Allegretto. Worth it once you have run a month and know which tier fits.